Sam Deeney, a student at Rowan University, was an intern at AKCG – Public Relations Counselors for the Summer and Fall of 2024. Sam shares her experience below.
Can you describe your internship experience at AKCG?
I started at AKCG in June 2024 and am wrapping up in December. Over my two-semester internship, I have made leaps and bounds regarding my understanding of how a public relations agency operates and the skills that public relations professionals possess.
Throughout my six months with AKCG, I learned how to create and update media lists, write pitches and reach out to reporters, engage with the community while representing a client, craft media alerts and more.
Everyone at AKCG is friendly, understanding and helpful. I am sad to be leaving but I know I have the tools and experience that will help me launch other internships and ultimately my career.
What information/experience did you find most rewarding during your time at AKCG?
I found participating in our weekly team meetings very insightful. I learned about my coworker’s experiences with clients and their approaches to creating successes out of challenges. The conversations gave me a glimpse into client relationships, media outreach and more. Additionally, the meetings helped create an internal sense of community and showed that we can all constantly learn from each other.
Can you describe one of your favorite projects you worked on?
One of my favorite projects was one of my most challenging: writing an article highlighting board members for one of our clients.
I got to be a part of the interviews and meet the board members. The interviewers gave a lot of information, so it was a challenging task to select the most important points while also aligning the article’s message to the client’s overall mission.
I had a lot of edits, and at times felt that I had “writer’s block.” But after completing this twice, I had an easier time picking out information and writing a smooth article. I believe I am much better at writing for a client thanks to this internship.
What advice would you give to future AKCG interns?
Enjoy your experience. The connections you make and skills you pick up are priceless, but beyond that, live in the present and take in the everyday. Do you look forward to working or do you see it as a chore? If the latter, you may want to go in another direction, but now you have the experience and know. If the former (like me), you have great experience and can continue pursuing similar work. Either way, this internship is an amazing opportunity, and you will be surrounded by great people.
