I wrote my first entry to the Intern Notebook in January, and since then I have started back at the University of Delaware for my final semester. This is my third semester at school while interning for DSG, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to reflect on the synergies between my internship and my classes.
Balancing Classes and an Internship
Broadly speaking, one thing that carries over from my internship to my classwork is my approach toward staying on top of tasks. One thing I do for both is make a to-do list at the beginning of each week. Laying out the tasks I have to complete throughout the week allows me to stay organized and get all of my work done on time.
When interning while at school I divide my list into two sides, one side for coursework and one side for DSG work. Balancing an internship and a full class schedule can be difficult but I find making a to-do list helps with time management.
Internship Impact on Classroom Learning
A lot of what I learned at DSG has played a vital role in the classroom, and vice versa. One specific example relates to a class I took last semester, Marketing Strategy for the Firm. In this class, we were put in teams and tasked with making executive marketing decisions for a startup 3D-printed bike company. The teams within the class competed against each other in the simulation.
One of the decisions we had to make was how much to budget for SEO and SEM campaigns. Early on we noticed that one of our bikes was rated the highest in terms of design, but we weren’t the sales leader in that particular category. I noticed that our competitors, with higher sales, had a more extensive paid search campaign for their bikes. Their online presence was seemingly bigger than ours because we weren’t investing as much in SEO/SEM. This allowed our competitors to drive more traffic and create more leads.
It now made sense why our bikes were rated higher but our competitors had more sales. From interning with DSG I know the cause and effect of paid search, and through that knowledge, I was able to help the team overcome our first road bump by expanding our paid search campaigns.
Gratitude For Quality Education and Valuable Work Experience
I’ve enjoyed intertwining school and work over the last year and a half. I’ve found so many similarities between what I’m learning in class and what I’m doing in my internship. I have high praise for the University of Delaware for how well they have prepared me for professional work experiences. It’s comforting knowing that after graduation, I’ll be able to use the skills and knowledge I’ve learned in class. Similarly, I feel more equipped in my classes than ever because of the exposure from interning at DSG. The concepts I learn while working at DSG seem to always come up in my classes, giving me a head start in those lessons. I’m glad the two have gone hand in hand, it’s been an excellent experience and something I have not taken for granted.