Internships

These Communication majors worked internships in 2008. We hope other students will learn from their experiences and find opportunities that spark their own interests.

Rachel Ridder

Ridder completed an internship in the Media Relations Department at Daytona International Speedway. As part of her work, she was responsible for adding and editing releases to the track’s Web site, transcribing and participating in all press-conferences, and conducting interviews with NASCAR members and drivers.

“I didn’t know a whole lot about racing before,” said Ridder, “but you get thrown into the middle of it and are forced to adapt. It teaches you a lot about media work.”

Ridder later served as an intern for the Embry-Riddle Sports Information Department. There, she shared many of the responsibilities she had learned at Daytona International Speedway, but also learned how to take proper stats of the teams’ games.

"Both internships gave me the insight to realize that I want to pursue a career involved with college athletics,” Ridder said.

Corey Dobridnia

As a intern for the Chicago Cubs minor league website, Dobridnia gained plenty of knowledge about the inside workings of a professional sports organization. Dobridnia conducted player Q&A interviews, recorded stats, and wrote stories for the website. She even had one of her assignments posted as the website feature story and provided the preview for the Minor League All-Star game.

“Internships like this show you that you need to know a great deal about the sport you will be covering,” said Dobridnia. “You also learn that deadlines are imperative.”

Ashley Toothill

Keeping with the Embry-Riddle tradition of aviation, Toothill found an internship with Sikorsky Aircraft. As part of her experience, she was asked to develop user manuals and a checklist for the S-70A Seahawk helicopter. Toothill also made updates to the manual for the Army’s UH-60A Blackhawk. Her skills in graphics communication were useful when she helped design new graphics of the VH-70 presidential helicopters.

“It was sometimes difficult to do, the new things they were asking me to do,” Toothill said. “But, I did recognize some things from being a pilot. Overall, I gained a lot of experience with research and technical writing and I even got a job offer out of it.”

Heather Owen

For her internship, Owen chose to hone her skills at Embry-Riddle for the Sports Information Department. As part of her work, Owen was instrumental in assembling ERAU Sports recruiting materials including video footage from games. She also followed the track team through their season and provided player statistics, meet stories, and updated player profiles.

David Smith

As an intern for the Volusia County Election Office, Smith was tasked with Election Management.

“I was concerned mostly with tools to help voters,” said Smith. “Specifically, I helped with the design of the ballots to make them easier to use for voters.”

Smith said that the experience taught him a lot about office politics and networking within the workplace.

“It was nice to work in a capacity that had to deal directly with democracy -- the election process,” he said.

Melanie Pugh

From January through April 2008, Pugh found herself at the sidelines of the sports arena with her camera focused on the athletes. As an intern with ERAU Athletics, Pugh was responsible for Sports Marketing and Sports Information. She edited video clips and highlight reels and wrote website releases.

“Students planning on interning with ERAU Athletics should have a knowledge of the sports they will be covering,” said Pugh. “Being a photographer and sports writer is just something that feels very familiar and interesting to me.”

Natasa Zorici

As a student-athlete in tennis from Croatia, Zoricic found a chance to gain experience by interning with Vinkovacka Televizija in Vinkovci, Croatia. There, she helped to assimilate news stories for television.

“I traveled with the other journalists and speakers and learned how to conduct good interviews,” said Zoricic. “Something like this really shows the importance of having good speaking and writing skills.”

Kelly Billon

Aviation is certainly a big part of the Embry-Riddle lifestyle. It became a big part of Billon’s when she landed an internship with Boeing in Houston, Texas.

As a major in both Communication and Meteorology, Billon found herself working for Boeing’s Space Exploration Business Development program. Her assignment was to work on the redesignation of the International Space Station as a National Lab. She was responsible for budget analysis, internal and external interviews, print design, writing, marketing, and public relations.

“I really found enjoyment in the diversity of my tasks,” said Billon. “I especially enjoyed interviewing leaders in the field. Everything from scientists in stem cell research to the Chief of Science at Johnson Space Center were so interesting.”

Kira Vuille-Kowing

As a student with interests in both Communication and Meteorology, Vuille-Kowing wanted to find something to utilize all of her education thus far. She found that with an internship at WESH TV-2 in Orlando.

Here, Vuille-Kowing was responsible for building graphics to be used during the broadcasts and help meteorologists with their work. In the end, she was able to use the experience to make a resume tape that she can use to start her career.

Anna Haller

As a student from Vaxholm, Sweden, Haller hoped to find an internship close to home. She accomplished this by working closely with Kilroy Education as an administrative assistant.

She participated as a sports counselor and helped new clients through the application process. She even helped student-athletes planning to apply to college prepare for the ACT, SAT, and TOEFL examinations.

“The internship really helped me learn to be confident and talk comfortably with people,” she said. “I now have a much better understanding of how a company is put together and run.”