Wbuchanan internship experienceletter

wendy buchanan
295 capuchin drive * sylva, nc 28779
wsbuchanan1@catamount.wcu.edu

April 24, 2012
828.508.0460

Deidre Elliott, Director of Professional Writing and Internship Liaison
Western Carolina University English Department
305 Coulter Building
Cullowhee, NC 28723

Subject: Spring 2012 Student Internship

Dear Professor Elliott,

I would like to first of all thank you for giving me the opportunity to work my student

internship with Pamela Duncan, Director of Western Carolina University’s Spring Literary Festival.

Working as an assistant to Professor Duncan has been one of the greatest, most rewarding

experiences of my life, and one I am not likely to ever forget.

The ultimate responsibility of my internship was to assist in the organization, promotion,

and documentation of the literary festival. I was given a wide variety of tasks, which made it all the

more exciting for me. I have no set career plans after I graduate in May, so I really enjoyed having

different types of responsibilities in which I could gain experience. I had the chance to work in the

following areas: communications, event planning, media design, and photography.

Communication is crucial when planning for any event, especially one as large as the

literary festival. The Literary Festival Committee searches for ways to reach out to the community

in hopes of getting everyone involved in WCU events, and one way in which I was personally

responsible for reaching the public was through social media. The Spring Literary Festival already

had an existing Facebook account to which I was given access and which I used to update posts. I

regularly posted information about the featured artists and scheduled events, and also provided

posts containing links to the University Bookstore and to City Lights Bookstore so that readers

could easily purchase books being featured at the events. I advertised the literary festival t-shirt by

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taking a picture of the shirt and posting it, along with information about the cost, payment methods,

and places where the shirts could be purchased. We had a tremendous response to all of our social

media communication. During the time in which I was responsible for the social updates, statistics

from the festival’s Facebook account reflected not only an increase in media attention, but also an

increase in the number of people interested in the Spring Literary Festival. These statistics show

that nearly 500 people were reached during the week of the festival alone. In addition to Facebook,

I also created a Twitter account and a Google Plus account, but neither of these received the

massive response that the Facebook account did.

I corresponded via email and telephone with several departments throughout the

university, with English department faculty, and with some of the guest authors about information

pertaining to the festival events. Through my internship, I learned how important communication

is when planning an event and how beneficial it is to use a variety of communication methods when

promoting an event.

Planning for an event as big as the literary festival was a new experience for me. I attended

all of the committee meetings, at which times decisions were made about the events and about

everything happening behind the scenes. I personally assisted Professor Duncan in making travel

and lodging arrangements for our visitors, obtaining guest parking passes, providing food for the

guests during their visit to WCU, lining up volunteers to sell literary festival t-shirts and to pass out

survey cards to the audience during the week of the festival, and putting together gift bags for each

of the artists. I also confirmed special requests with members of the University Center staff; these

requests included technological needs and stage setup for each of the performances, a place to store

t-shirts and brochures outside of scheduled events, and placement of literary festival signs outside

the University Center building. Through my internship, I learned that every small detail in the

planning of an event can make a huge difference during the actual event itself; organization is

absolutely essential in preparing for events.

wendy buchanan * wsbuchanan1@catamount.wcu.edu * 828.508.0460

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Designing various types of media is one of my artistic passions and I enjoyed the

opportunity to use my design skills throughout my internship. I created a special invitation for

Chancellor Belcher, which included a personal message and schedule of the festival events. For each

of our artists, I created a thank you card and I designed a schedule of events that I published on

Facebook. Through my internship, I learned that when reaching out to any audience, creative

designs are often more effective than text alone.

Photography goes beyond an artistic passion for me; it is my obsession. I have

photographed very few events, especially of this magnitude, so I was equally excited and nervous

about photographing the literary festival events. I took photographs of authors, students, and

English faculty members at each event and after the last event of the day, or the next day if the

evening event kept me out too late, I posted the pictures on Facebook along with recaps of the

events. I am honored that both Professor Duncan and Dr. Brian Gastle, English Department Head,

felt that I was capable of carrying out such an important task and that some of my literary festival

photos may be used to update the English Department website. Through my internship, I learned

that photography is an effective way of promoting events, and that even our hobbies can be useful

skills in any endeavor.

The actual week of events was very exciting. I enjoyed getting to meet the authors and even

had the opportunity to get to know some of them better over dinner, either before or after their

performances. Listening to the authors talk about places they have travelled, books they are

writing, and aspects of their everyday lives was one of the coolest things I have ever done. There is

no way that I could pick a favorite event of the week because they were all fantastic. During the

week of the events I arrived to campus by 8:30 a.m. and did not leave until at least 9:30 or 10:00

that night, even though Professor Duncan did not require me to attend every event or to be there all

day. I was having so much fun that I was afraid of missing something if I left early. Between events, I

assisted with last minute arrangements, took authors to their rooms or to dinner, spoke with


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University Center staff about sound issues, set up the table to display brochures and t-shirts,

edited literary festival photographs, and helped in any other way I was needed. All of that running

around left me feeling completely exhausted, so on Friday of that week I went home after class and

slept for 16 hours straight! I do not recall ever having a more exhausting or more exciting week

than the week of the 2012 Spring Literary Festival.

During my student internship, I learned new skills that have prompted me to apply for

employment in areas I would not have otherwise considered. Through my tasks promoting the

literary festival, I discovered how much I enjoy public relations. I feel that the experience I gained in

organizing and promoting the events, assisting the authors, and communicating with the public, the

people working the events, and the writers, has given me skills that prepare me for work as public

relations professional, a marketing communications specialist, or media planner. Two areas I find

especially interesting after working with Professor Duncan include event planning and directing an

event, program, or organization. Before my internship I never realized how careers in these areas

incorporate my interests, abilities, and, now, experience.

Another interest I discovered from my internship is that I enjoy being a personal assistant.

Whether I was running errands, completing projects, making arrangements, or contacting sources,

everything that I did to assist Professor Duncan or the artists was incredibly rewarding. I have

always enjoyed helping others and had never considered turning this quality into a career. I will

absolutely look for positions in which I can work as an assistant in either a personal or company

setting.

While my internship was 99% perfect, I would like to offer a small suggestion in hopes of

helping future student interns and faculty alike. To ensure students are able to fulfill all jobs

originally outlined in their contracts, bring the list of recommended internship requirements before

the entire faculty at a departmental meeting prior to signing and submitting it to career services.

Faculty can then discuss the tasks intended for the student so that everyone has the opportunity to


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voice concerns or objections prior to the start of the internship. Giving faculty an opportunity to

voice their concerns prior to the student beginning his or her internship should help keep faculty

members from hindering students as they attempt to complete their assigned responsibilities,

which is something that causes stressful situations between faculty and students.

Overall, my internship experience was amazing. Professor Duncan was the perfect

internship supervisor. She continuously taught me new skills while never making me feel

inadequate. Professor Duncan often asked for my thoughts or ideas about the literary festival and I

always felt she genuinely appreciated my input, something that really helped boost my self-

confidence. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the opportunity to work with Professor Duncan

and the impact this experience has made not only on my education, but also on my life. At the

beginning of the spring semester, I was not sure that I was adequately prepared to graduate and

enter the professional world in May. However, because Professor Duncan always acted as a true

mentor, offering me encouragement and imparting her wisdom, I am more confident in my abilities,

in who I am as a person, than I have ever been before. My only regret is that my internship must

end and there is no departmental money to hire me on as her assistant on a permanent basis.

In closing, I would like to once again thank you for the internship experience I was awarded.

The English department faculty is a group of amazing people who have been instrumental in my

development as a student and as a person. Being a part of the literary festival and having the chance

to work with such phenomenal people has granted me a life-changing experience for which I will be

eternally grateful. I credit you all for any future accomplishment I may have.

Sincerely,

Wendy Buchanan
2012 Spring Literary Festival Intern


Wbuchanan internship experienceletter

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