the last one

Over the past few weeks, I have been doing a series on interning. I talked about my experiences and various roles, ways to be a good intern, and what to wear at work. Like any experience, interning is what you make of it and what you personally invest. 

As a closing thought, I want to encourage any current or future intern to invest yourself into what you are pursuing. Whether you find yourself in a best case situation or a stepping stone toward something else use every experience to learn. Not all situations will be ideal, yet these opportunities can be the best way to learn something new. It can be difficult to find internships that have the ideal qualities you are looking for, but do not lose hope. Put yourself out there in order to find what you are searching for. Whether that means contacting a company directly or networking in a unique way, take initiative for what you want to accomplish. You never know what might come up and the worst you could hear is a simple "no." You might receive an opportunity that you did not have intentions for and later realize is was the best situation that could have happened. 

Life has a funny way of working itself out. What is meant to be will work itself out you just have to be patient and work hard. It's cliche, but true. 

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Your Favorite Redhead

what not to wear

When interning, fashion can be more important than one may realize. Specifically, when interning in events fashion is key because outfits will vary from casual to business causal and all must be functional. Here is my top tips on what NOT to wear as an intern.

1. It's all about the shoes. Working in events, close-toed comfortable shoes is an absolute must. You never know what the day may bring and odds are the day will include being one your feet for an extended amount of time. 

What TO wear: Keds, Sperrys, or ballet flats

2. Lose the jewelry. Big statement necklaces are not a great idea although they are currently in style. Save bigger jewelry pieces for outside of work and special events. 

What TO wear: small necklaces or scarves

3. Dress in layers. As an intern it is easy to go from sitting in a cold office to breaking a sweat stacking chairs. Dressing in layers allows for more comfort no matter what task given. 

What TO wear: cardigans are great and can be paired with anything from dresses to jeans

4. Pick pockets. Pockets are always handy when carrying around keys, phones, and the miscellaneous items. 

What  TO wear: colored jeans, skirts and dresses with pockets with pockets, and pullover rain jackets with from pockets are always convenient

Your Favorite Redhead

13 interning tips

So you want to be an intern? Interning is an important part in developing skills and a resume for a career. Here's a few tips on how to be the best intern possible.

1. Dress the part. Like they say, dress for the job you want. Why not start now?

2. Be eager with all tasks. Keeping a positive attitude is so important and makes less fun tasks slightly more enjoyable or at least bearable. 

3. Do more than what is expected of you. Go above and beyond what is asked of you because what do you have to lose. 

4. Work hard.  "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

5. Be excited about having an internship. Internships are stepping stones to a future career. Be excited about exploring the possibilities and opportunities in your field of choice. 

6. Learn as much as you can. What better way to learn than by a hands-on experience. You will learn so much more than you would in a classroom. Be a sponge to the endless possibilities. 

7. Be confident in your work and your abilities. Eleanor Roosevelt got this one right. You are capable of so much if you believe in yourself. 

8. Be yourself. Why be anyone else when you are "fearfully an wonderfully made." 

9. Keep your personal life personal. Unless asked, save the drama for your mama. Stay present and focused when working. 

10. Show up on time and meet deadlines. Clients are depending on you to provide for them what they payed for- take this responsibility seriously. 

11. Stay positive when things don't go your way. A lot will go wrong or different than you planned. Use these opportunities to learn and think critically. 

12. Stay fiercely motivated. Life gets busy and tough, but remind yourself of what you want to accomplish and what your goals are. 

13. Keep on keeping on because "hey now hey now (interning) is what dreams are made!" How could you disagree with Lizzie?

Your Favorite Redhead

The Internship

Over the next few weeks I am going to be doing a blogging series about being an intern. This series is primarily for a business class I am in where we are studying about the impact of information systems and how social media is a factor in that. I am going to try to explain what being an intern entails and what has benefited me in being an intern.

As I have previously written about (http://maleahhodge.blogspot.com/2014/08/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none_26.html), I am currently an intern with University Events at Abilene Christina University. When people ask what I do it is difficult to explain because my job requires me to wear many hats. The better question would be "what do I not do?." I have had a wide array of opportunities ranging from making copies to designing events.

I have had the opportunity to be apart of the logistics and implementation of ACU's Open Assembly which starts the new school year.

{Since I did not get to carry the Oklahoma flag in the parade this year I naturally had to snag a picture with it.}

Opening Assemble was the first event I got to work and I was on a trial run throughout the weekend prep leading up to the actual event. I was pretty excited when I got to wear a walkie talkie at the event, even though it didn't actually work.

{Pretty official, am I right?}

A few weeks into working at UE I got to have an official ACU name tag of my own and I wear it any chance I get. 

{I had to call my mom and tell her about my exciting news of getting a name tag. Much official. Such intern.} 

Along with getting an ACU name tag, another goal I had when I got on campus was to drive a golf cart. The gator is close enough. 

{Name tags and gators-the ACU dream}

I also have a set of what I generally refer to as "janitor keys". Although I never seem to have the keys that I need. 

{Got keys?}

I got work a concert event in Moody Coliseum for a vocal music group called Home Free. 

{Rock on}

I get to design center pieces every so often. 

{It's fall y'all}

I get to plan events. 

{Read more: http://maleahhodge.blogspot.com/2014/12/cookies-for-santa.html}

Sometimes I get to buy 40 poinsettias from Lowes. 

{I got some weird looks}

All in all, the adventure of interning in events has been a roller coaster, but it has been so worth it. The past 6 months have been crazy and filled with ups and downs. I knew as soon as I got to ACU that it was exactly where I needed to be and I know that is also true with this internship as well. 

It is crazy and exciting and everyday is a new adventure, adventure being the key word. People are always telling me "wow your job is so cool" and to be honest, it really is. I tend to work a lot and get sent on some wild goose chases sometimes, but I wouldn't change a thing. 

So here's to interning and all that comes along with it. Here's to the journey it has been and continues to be. 

Your Favorite Redhead

conflict to blessing

It's been three weeks for me to finally find the energy to recap this semester. What a semester it was. Everything that could have been thrown my way was. Juggling being a full-time student, working 12-30 hours a week, pledging (what an experience), a relationship, a breakup, and thats just the major happenings. Life came and happened. 

Throughout the events of the past four months it was so hard to function normally and process everything. It was hard being busy to the point of having every moment of your day planned, not to be overly OCD, but to fit everything in you needed to do. It was hard trying to be the person people around you were expecting you to be. It was hard. 

I naturally have mixed emotions and feelings about going back to real life. While I love being home, having nothing to do, nowhere to be, and can catch up on the sleep I didn't get in the fall and won't get in the spring, I know that I need to get back to school. Not for the actual school part because I am dreading that part, but to be with my friends again. It is hard to find the motivation to be excited about going back to school after this past semester. See, every semester has gotten harder. They say it gets easier in time, yet it hasn't and that's scary to think about. 

While I find myself apprehensive about the next six months of school, I keep having the though go through my head that it is going to get easier. Life in general will get easier. I cannot imagine what a semester harder than one filled will pledging could look like. Here I find myself in the great unknown and it's not the outside looking in or end of the journey looking back, but the journey. Yes, it is fun and exciting and there is really cool activity happening all around me, at the same time it is scary and large and intimidating. 

Making the right choices has become harder on a daily basis. For someone who already had trouble making decisions, this causes me to question my every move. It is hard to keep in perspective that no matter what path I choose it can work for the greater good because God is with me. If God is with me than I cannot fail.  So reflecting on this past semester I have hope that while there were positives and negatives and ups and downs and it was an adventure to say the least, I have grown from the struggle and the hard times faces. Donald Miller says in his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years "There is no conflict man can endure that will not produce a blessings." I love this quote because when struggle is reflected on, the outcome of situation is more impactful than the hardship. 

As cliché as it sounds, struggle makes our lives more impactful than they previously were and help us become and discover who we need to be. I lived this the past few months and although this semester left me discouraged and frustrated, I have learned so much valuable knowledge. While I cannot see what is behind recent events someday I will be able to look back and realize the bigger purpose and meaning. 


Your Favorite Redhead