Lily Oberhelman's Internship Reflection

For the past two months, Gambel has provided a stimulating environment for me to expand my skills, work directly with media professionals and be able to confidently say that I received the hands-on experience needed to feel secure post-graduation. From the first week, I was welcomed with an array of friendly faces, an assortment of helpful tools and a dynamic day-to-day schedule that left me feeling accomplished and educationally fulfilled.

Going into this experience, I had no idea what to expect. Public relations had always been a field that sparked my interest, however I had no idea what the profession truly entailed. My goal to work in an environment with the perfect balance of utilizing creative abilities while strengthening strategic problem-solving skills was satisfied, and there was never space for a dull moment or wave of boredom.

One of my favorite parts of interning with Gambel was the shadowing out-of-office trips that were offered as a learning experience. In the span of two months, I was able to go to an assortment of galas, luncheons, news stations and meetings to collect content for social media. Because of this, I significantly improved my networking skills and became more comfortable navigating unfamiliar territory. Particularly, the most memorable experience I had was attending the Black and Gold Gala for the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce. Not only was it academically stimulating but also was a blast to attend. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to spend quality time getting to know my colleagues while also growing through first-hand observation.  

I am thankful for being able to experience the excitement of the industry while also having the opportunity to welcome and overcome challenges. Sometimes I slip into stressing over minute details rather than focusing on big-picture objectives, and because of this, managing stress is something that I wanted to work on tackling this summer. The women at Gambel provided me with not only fantastic guidance when it came to my daily tasks but there was always a sense of underlying support that made me feel comfortable, confident and immensely grateful.

With my final year of college quickly approaching, I understand how an uncertain future can lead to feeling lost. Whether through a rocky sense of belonging or through overthinking the consequences of choosing one path over another, as we grow, so can our sense of uncertainty. What I have gathered from working at Gambel is that sitting in those uncomfortable moments and learning from them is more beneficial than having a clear-cut path to an end goal. With the right mindset, adversity can lead to an immense sense of growth, determination and resilience. After interning with Gambel, I am excited to dive into the next phase of my life with this new toolset of knowledge and I will forever remember and be grateful for the time I have spent learning from these powerful women.