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Communication Insights

Understanding Communications and a Nonprofit Company

Alysa Mallin

Department of Communications, Salisbury University

COMM 495: Internship in Communications

Dr. David Burns

May 13, 2022

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At the start of my career at Salisbury University, I thought I knew what I wanted to do. I

knew that I wanted to be a nurse, just like most of the women in my life, but two years later, I

lost interest. I needed to find something that I was passionate about, so my parents sat me down

to discuss all the possibilities. At the time, all I could do was stare at social media on my phone.

But, it eventually hit me that I could turn that into a career. So, I decided that I wanted to work in

social media and public relations.

Two years later, I was in my final year at Salisbury University. I had just landed a job as a

social media manager and was already on the hunt for an internship for my last semester. I was

determined to find an internship that included social media because I felt that I lacked guidance

and knowledge when doing my job as a social media manager. In addition, I wanted to have a

mentor to help teach me the skills I could not teach myself. After talking with a handful of

business professionals in my life, I was persuaded to try to find a different avenue in the

communications field. This way, I could figure out what I did or did not like for the future.

Luckily for me, my search did not take long. An old friend came into one of my classes to

give a presentation on Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Eastern Shore (BBBSES). I wanted to be a

mentor, but because I was graduating, I was unable to. However, she had mentioned in her

presentation that they were looking for interns. I expressed interest to her, and I was hired shortly

after. My experience with BBBSES has been highly beneficial. I have learned a lot about the

professional world and the communications field through the nonprofit lens.

The first day of my internship was nothing like I had expected. I was expecting my

experience there to be much more formal. I dressed in business casual and quickly learned that

this was only required on specific days. I also learned that I had a lot of flexibility regarding our

schedule. We were allowed to leave early, come in late, and come in as often as we wanted. Of
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course, there were times when formality was necessary, but overall it was a pretty relaxed

environment.

One of the biggest takeaways from my internship was the importance of networking and

connections. Reaching out and discussing with somebody in my field helped me gain this

experience. A significant portion of my job was reaching out to organizations, companies, and

schools in hopes of persuading them to work with us in some capacity. For example, I used my

connection at Playa Bowls to get an in-kind donation for our Bigs of the year ceremony. In

addition, I used my connections through my sorority to get over 200 donations of school supplies

and hygiene products for families in the organization. The connections I made were vital to being

successful at my internship. Connections and networking are crucial components of working in

communications, especially in the nonprofit world.

I spent a considerable portion of my internship contacting organizations to ask if I could

give a presentation about becoming a mentor. Often, we had more children on the waiting list

because of the lack of mentors. I would give a presentation to persuade members of that

organization to sign up to be mentors. In addition, I needed to connect with members of the

community and network with them. I found it was easier to schedule a presentation when I knew

someone in the organization. For example, I wanted to present to the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity

because they are a community service organization. It helped that I knew of a few members, so

scheduling a presentation was simple. Having these connections was something I learned while

completing outreach.

Another aspect I learned while completing outreach during my internship is the

importance of word choice and phrasing things correctly. While working at a nonprofit, I quickly

learned that you have to persuade people to donate time, money, or resources. People can
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struggle to want to do this, so it was vital that I found the correct way to persuade them to do it. I

found that the words I used and how I phrased them impacted how successful I was at securing

these donations. For example, while asking people to sign up for our Bowl for Kids’ Sake event,

when I mentioned that it benefited underprivileged children, they were more likely to take

information or donate something. The way I communicated in these roles was crucial to the

success of my internship.

Going into my internship, I learned all the different ways people communicated, but I

didn’t fully understand just how many styles there were. In addition to this discovery, I found

that it is common for people to have different communication preferences. The office I worked in

only had three full-time staff members—each of these members communicated in a way that

they found most compelling. I found I would have to alter how I communicated with them to

best fit their needs. Grasping this concept early on helped me to be successful.

When I wasn’t learning new information about communication, I was able to learn about

nonprofit organizations. My internship was the first nonprofit that I worked with, so I learned a

decent amount. I was surprised to learn that they spend time writing grant proposals a lot of the

time. I assumed that the government or corporate was able to give them money, but this is not the

case. They need local grants to support them, and they can receive them because their services

benefit the people in the community. I also was surprised to learn how we must document

everything. It must be noted if you give out flyers, candy, business cards, or any good. These few

examples are just a tiny portion of how much I learned about nonprofit organizations.

After learning so much about a nonprofit organization, I realized that I most likely would

not do it again. I found the experience of working with an organization that helped so many

children very rewarding. Unfortunately, I struggled with certain aspects of the nonprofit world. I
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was disappointed that I worked with persuading others to donate in some capacity. I have always

hated cold calling people because it triggers my anxiety. When I am nervous, I tend to stammer

when speaking on the phone. I have always found this super embarrassing, so I get anxious I

might do it on the phone. I feel it is one of my most significant weaknesses. When I stammer,

people tend not to take me seriously or assume I don’t know what I am talking about.

Nevertheless, I continue working on it because I believe it could hurt me in my field.

I felt like I wasn’t assertive enough when I was cold calling. I often felt like companies

were trying to get me off the phone. This is where my word choice came into play. I was more

likely to get them to take me seriously or take information if I worded it in a specific way. I am

disappointed that I couldn’t improve my ability to assert myself and my ability to be persuasive.

Looking forward to the future, I now have a few more tools than I originally had to improve in

this area. It wasn’t very reassuring not to be successful at this, but it is something I am actively

working on.

Another time I was disappointed in myself was when I created the outreach video. The

outreach video was the first time I have ever made a video of that nature. That was also the first

time I had interviewed in a professional sense. The interview I did was the Big sister was decent.

I was able to get fully explained answers in a format that would make editing easier. I struggled

with the Little sister interview because I wasn’t sure how to coach her through it. The Little sister

is on the younger side, so I struggled to get her to speak up, talk in complete sentences, and look

at the camera. Coaching an adult to do the interview was more straightforward because she could

better comprehend what I was asking her to do. As a result of my inability to coach her, I could

not use the majority of the video. If I could go back and fix that, I would.
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I also struggled with editing the outreach video. As I stated previously, I had never made

an outreach video before my time at BBBSES. This means I have never used editing software to

edit a video. Initially, I was using Canva because I wasn’t aware of any editing software on our

computers. I knew using Canva would limit what I was able to do. I think It was decent for all

the limitations that I had. I wanted to be able to create a better video. After talking with my

supervisor, I was informed that we did have editing software. I decided that I would start from

scratch. I also chose to combine the two interviews because I could only use a tiny section of the

interview with the Little sister. I felt that if I attempted to make a separate video, it would not be

as good as the other one. My lack of knowledge in editing then affected the time it took to create.

I spent well over 10 hours on this remake. I usually like for projects to take no more than 3

hours. I just wanted the video to be done well. I should have managed my expectations and asked

for more direction.

I felt that the editing was the best I could do, but it did not reflect my best work. In the

end, the video ended up being decent enough to be used. Although I am disappointed in my

career, I am proud that I finished it before the end of my internship and put in as much effort as

possible. It also reflected what my supervisor was looking for in an outreach video. I checked off

everything she wanted to be included in this video. Although I may view this as a failure, I still

think I had small successes within this project.

I have a lot to be proud of when it comes to this internship. I was able to accomplish a lot

of things that I wanted to. I also am proud of my ability to learn and gain new skills. However, I

am most proud of my ability to gather school supplies and hygiene products. The children in the

BBBSES program need these supplies and being able to provide that was the most rewarding

experience of my internship. One of my passions in life is to help people in need, and I was able
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to do this through my internship. My ability to gather as many items as I did, surprised me. This

project showed me just how capable I am.

Another thing I was incredibly proud of was the press release I wrote. I had never written

a press release before, and I felt that this was one of the best pieces of work I had ever written. I

spent a good bit of time researching press releases so that I could match the style. The style of

press releases can be complex, and I thought that researching examples helped me. In the end, I

found out that I enjoy press releases. I hope that this is one of my duties at my job when I

graduate.

My success in forming relations with other organizations is something else I am proud of.

This is an area where I felt I thrived and where I was able to make the most significant impact.

For example, I built a relationship with a person in the Worcester county office. She was able to

help me out to make sure we got added to the list of volunteer opportunities on their website.

This way, more and more people were hearing about our program. In addition, the relationship I

built allowed BBBSES to send over dates for specific events to be posted on the Worcester

county Facebook page. My ability to form great relationships helps impact the company in the

future and provides them with the things they need.

The final thing I am most proud of is the brochure I made. I spent a lot of time and effort

on the brochure. The brochure is something that people see across all nine counties of the

Eastern Shore. Our brochure informs people of our program and may result in parents or

guardians enrolling their children in our program. I wanted the brochure to be excellent because I

knew how much influence it could have on others. I am proud that my words may help hundreds

of families decide to enroll their children. I feel like my work is a part of the process of inspiring

change.
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A small aspect of my internship was helping plan events. My role in planning the events

was small, but I genuinely enjoyed it. I would help suggest ideas of what activities to play with

the kids or something that would help make the event better. I enjoyed the fast pace environment

we had before all of our events. I liked coordinating where everything went. The biggest thing I

enjoyed was making decisions on the spot. I felt that I was successful in that area. For example,

we had a Big’s Bingo event during Third Friday in downtown Salisbury. This was an event

where members of the community could play bingo. This event occurred on a day when the

weather was beautiful. Nobody was interested in coming inside, so we weren’t raising enough

money. I was outside helping with a free activity we had when I got a great idea. We had all

these snacks for sale inside, so I brought them out and sold them. My quick thinking helped to

benefit BBBSES more. This internship allowed me to discover that I want to explore event

planning after graduation.

At the start of my internship, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do. However,

after completing my internship, I am not as optimistic. This internship made me feel less secure

in my career decision. It has opened my eyes to all the possibilities and opportunities as a

communications professional. It has made me nervous as I took to the future because now I feel

uncertain. This statement may seem like a negative one, but I believe having an open mind will

benefit me. My experience at this internship has motivated me to research all the potential jobs I

could have in the communications field. One job I discovered is a brand manager. This job

intrigued me the most because I like analyzing how a product does and how to sell it best. I enjoy

building a brand and hope to develop a company’s brand in the future. Without this experience, I

could miss out on my true calling.

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Now that I have started to apply for jobs, I have considered my experience and everything

I learned at my internship. My initial thought process was to apply for positions in the social

media field. After my experience with my internship, I am now considering other positions. I am

most interested in communications specialists, human resources representatives, sales positions,

brand managers, strategists, and public relations specialists. I gravitate more towards positions in

public relations. These types of positions combine many aspects I enjoy about the

communications field. Without this experience, I would be unaware of all my options. This

experience has helped tremendously with my post-graduation plans.

The most important thing I learned is just how capable I am of growing as a professional.

Especially with as many experiences as I have had, this internship helped me increase my skills.

I was able to push myself past the limits I created for myself and work on projects I never would

dream of doing. I also was able to gain some practical general office skills. I was able to learn

about using mailings in word. I gained a better understanding of excel and how to use it. My

growth as a professional is what is going to make me successful outside of my internship.

Overall, I succeeded in my internship at BBBSES and learned many things. I gained some

valuable skills and insight into what I did and did not want in my career, and it opened my eyes

to all the opportunities I could have. I learned more about communication styles and how to be a

more effective communicator. There were moments when I was incredibly proud of my work

and moments when I disappointed myself. In the beginning, I was expecting to complete an

internship in social media but ended up going down a different path. I am incredibly grateful for

the team at BBBSES because I gained a new experience that has helped me figure out what I

want to do after graduation.

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