Logan Poplin

Dr. Hand
Internship Reflection Letter
7/30/2017

I came about this internship with The College of Fine Arts through an email
that was sent to all Editing, Writing, and Media majors. I was still seeking an
internship to fulfill my internship requirement before graduation. I was very
interested in the position to be a social media writer, but by the time I had
interviewed with Anna Prentiss, that position was filled and I was assigned to be a
blog content writer.
As a blog content writer, I assisted in the creation of blog entries as
requested by Anna, the College Communications Specialist. My main writing
platform was Wordpress. Most of the time, Anna or others from The College of Fine
Arts sent article pitches by email. After I received the email, it was my duty to
research the subject and develop a well-written article.
This was my first time in a position where I mainly worked from a remote
location. The only times that I came to campus were to interview artists, students, or
alumni for an article I was working on, or to have a meeting with Anna and the rest
of the communications team. Semesters prior to this summer, the internship was
not remote, but since my supervisor, Anna was due to have her baby, it was easier
for her to work from home. I found this to be both challenging and rewarding.
It was challenging in many different ways: Wordpress, article content, school
and work schedule, and the remote location. A few years ago, I had an online blog
that was published on the Wordpress platform. When I interviewed with Anna, I
mentioned that I had previous experience with the writing platform. We both
thought that this would be an easy transition for the both of us. On my first day of
training, she sat me down to show me the different websites for the College of Fine
Arts, as well as, how to access the back end of each site and how each article was
constructed. I instantly knew that I had underestimated how knowledgeable I was
with Wordpress. Each article had different tags, categories, excerpts, picture sizes,
and formatting. It took almost five weeks for me to fully grasp every different aspect
that was required for an article.
Every prompt for an article that was sent to me was either for dance, theatre,
museum of fine arts, art education, art history, or a department or award within. It
was difficult for me to write the articles because I was very unfamiliar with the
College of Fine Arts and the departments within it. When I was writing about
awards and nominations that were relevant to FSU alum in the theatre or dance
departments, I spent a day or two reading different articles online to make sure that
I was knowledgeable on the award, nomination, and the type of scene that the alum
played a part in. I am well aware that this is what is required when writing any
article or research paper, but this was especially difficult because I was so
unfamiliar with the subject before hand.
Throughout my college career, I have always had to have a job to support
myself, which is why it took me almost six years to complete my degree. This
summer semester had the potential to possibly be my last semester. I was
determined to take on as much as I possibly could for the first six weeks of school in
order to graduate in 12 weeks. The first six weeks of the summer semester was
absolutely horrible. Monday through Friday, I had a three-hour Italian course. On
Monday and Wednesday evenings, I had a three hour writing and editing course and
every day, I worked on my internship for at least three to four hours either before,
or after working at my job. Some weeks, between work, school, and my internship, I
would go seven days a week without a break in between. Fortunately, I made it
through the hardest part of my college career and for the last six weeks of the
semester, I was able to dedicate the majority of my time to my internship without
distractions!
As I mentioned before, this was my first time working remotely. The most
difficult part for me was not having immediate feedback on my work. Most of my
work was time sensitive, so when I would submit the link for an article to be
reviewed, I had to wait for my supervisor to edit it, send it back with queries, and
then I was able to make changes before publishing. I understand that this is how
most articles are written, but since Anna and I seemed to have opposite schedules, it
made it more difficult to communicate efficiently. I never knew how many
distractions there were in my house until I took on this internship. Not having a
supervisor overseeing my work held me accountable for my actions and forced me
to master my time management skills. Everyday, before I started working, I sat
down and made a list of articles and edits I needed to complete that day. By doing
so, I had a visible list of things to cross off and get done.
A typical day for my internship was to first check my email to see if I had a
new article pitch and to sign on to Google Hangouts and let Anna know that I was
online. She would then ask me what my to do list for the day was and I would get to
work. I only interacted with her again if I had a question about an article, when I
submitted a link for edit, or when she sent back an article with queries.
Working with and meeting Anna Prentiss was incredibly rewarding. She is
intelligent, knowledgeable, understanding, kind, and passionate about what she
does. Having a mentor who oversaw my work and the chance to work with someone
who has worked in the career field that I want to join for many years was a priceless
opportunity. I am so incredibly grateful for this experience.
Before starting my internship, I was a bit peeved that I was required to
complete an internship before graduating. After questioning why I was so annoyed
with it, I discovered that it was just fear: I was scared to put myself out into the
workforce: I was scared of failing at something that I had put so much time and
effort into: I was worried that if I failed, I had wasted all those years of hard work
toward a degree that I wanted and in a field that I was passionate about. I told
myself that a negative attitude would lead to a negative experience; I jumped in and
was eager to learn.
I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Florida State
University and the College of Fine Arts. This was the first time that I was doing work
that was relevant to my degree. I felt confident in my writing, editing, and
communication skills because I was properly prepared throughout the courses I had
taken at FSU.
 Not only did I learn a lot about myself during this 12-week internship with
the College of Fine Arts, I learned a lot about my school, the faculty and staff, the
students that attend, and the alumni of Florida State University. I was able to
interview creative and inspiring people.
My favorite article I wrote this semester was on Brittany Watkins. Brittany
graduated from Florida State University with her MFA from the Department of Art.
She was awarded the 2017 Juried Panel Prize at Artfields for her work titled <Accept
[(Self)+Elsewhere]. I was able to sit down with her for about an hour and ask her
questions regarding her installation. Throughout the interview, I was able to bring
out a more personable side of Brittany. I really felt like I made a connection with
her. Her work inspired me. She grabs her inspiration from her daily life, the places
she travels to, and the people she meets. As a student at Florida State, I was aware of
the amazing work that alumni have created, but sitting down and getting to know an
artist, hear about her struggles, and connect with her, made me view art, the
Department of Art, and my school in a completely different way. It made me
extremely proud to attend Florida State University.
As I reflect on this internship and the opportunity that I sought out, I cant
help but think of the skills that I have expanded upon and the importance of each
skill; the most important one being communication. Without communication,
everything collapses. Communication is key, especially while working remotely. If I
was running behind due to class getting out late, I made sure to let Anna know so
she wouldnt be sitting around wondering if I was logging on. If she had meetings
throughout the week, she made sure to let me know what days and times she would
be out of the office, so if I had questions, I could come in while she was working. The
biggest change this semester was transferring supervisors the last week of the
semester. Anna had left for maternity leave, so that left her assistant, Jonathan in
charge of assignments and edits. A month before, Anna had Jonathan and I come into
her office to discuss upcoming changes. Anna made sure we both had each others
contact information and schedules so that communication between us would be
smooth.
Overall, I am very pleased with how this experience turned out. I am not as
nervous about graduating or putting myself out into the workforce because I have
this experience as a confidence booster. One of my fears about entering the
workforce was being rejected by a company because I lacked experience. Now, with
the help of my internship, I have experience and a portfolio to showcase my work.
I think that the word count and workload was fair and accurate to what
would be expected of an employee in an editing and writing field. The only major
criticism I have is that I wish it were a paid internship. I spent a lot of my time
working afterhours to meet deadlines and it would have been nice to be
compensated for it. There were multiple notifications on BlackBoard for paid
internships, but I was adamant about working for Florida State University.
Ultimately, the experience was priceless and I needed it to fulfill a graduation
requirement.
In closing, I would like to thank the English Department and you, Dr. Hand for
helping me throughout my internship. I would also like to thank Anna Prentiss and
the rest of the College of Fine Arts Communications team. All of you have made my
experience at Florida State a memorable and positive experience. I am truly
thankful. Below is the list of my assignments, as well as, the correct word count for
each one.

Writing:
1. Art Alumna, Brittany Watkins, ArtFields 2017 Juried Prize Winner
a. Word Count: 740
2. FSU School of Theatre Alums Shine on Broadway
a. Word Count: 550
3. FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training Presents Dog Days Theatre
a. Word Count: 1856
4. FSU/Asolo Alum Stars in New FX Series
a. Word Count: 274
5. The Museum of Fine Arts Announces New Offerings for the Fall Semester
a. Word Count: 447
6. College of Fine Arts Opening Reception: MFA Student Showcase in Atlanta
a. Word Count: 160
7. Department of Interior Architecture + Design Receives Approval for New
Class
a. Word Count: 181
8. Congratulations to Amy Bowman, Department of Art History Doctoral
Candidate and Museum Director
a. Word Count: 260
9. FSU Students and Alums Participate in MANCC Forward Dialogues
a. Word Count: 469
10. Art of the Educator
a. Word Count 62
11. Tallahassee Watercolor Society Tri-State Competition
a. Word Count: 39
12. Stone Texture 1220
a. Word Count: 43
13. Red Texture 1220
a. Word Count: 43
14. Blue Texture 1015
a. Word Count: 42
15. Multi Texture 1020
a. Word Count: 43
16. Instruments Texture 1020
a. Word Count: 43
17. Michael Zuckerberg
a. Word Count: 173
18. Chuck Whited
 a. Word Count: 86
19. Robert L. Ward
a. Word Count: 182
20. Jonathan R. Toppe, AIA, NCARB
a. Word Count: 207
21. Jean Thrasher
a. Word Count: 172
22. Fred Salancy
a. Word Count: 207
23. Randy Rhea
a. Word Count: 91
24. Sandy Proctor
a. Word Count: 187
25. Brett Player
a. Word Count: 188
26. Audra Price Pittman, PhD
a. Word Count: 187
27. Almena Hill Pettit
a. Word Count: 99
28. Meredith McKinney, MD
a. Word Count: 167
29. Sue Markham, FASID, NCIDQ
a. Word Count: 196
30. Jessie Lovano-Kerr, PhD
a. Word Count: 107
31. Debra Lachter
a. Word Count: 178
32. Howard Kessler, MD
a. Word Count: 172
33. Joe Johnson
a. Word Count: 129
34. J. Emory Johnson
a. Word Count: 212
35. Jane Grimmett
a. Word Count: 151
36. Doug Grimmett
a. Word Count: 167
37. David Gilchrist
a. Word Count: 151
38. Segundo J. Fernandez
a. Word Count: 182
39. Aram Ebben
a. Word Count: 121
40. Gloria Deison
a. Word Count: 99
41. Thomas A. Deans
 a. Word Count: 129
42. Terry P. Cole
a. Word Count: 171
43. Mark Cecil
a. Word Count: 132
44. Ben Bivins
a. Word Count: 155
45. FSU Alum Nominated For The Bessie Awards
a. Word Count: 414

Editing:
1. Faculty Updates 2017
a. Word Count: 4344