YMCA Internship: How This Experience Shaped Views on My Major and Career

Interning with the YMCA has helped shape my views about my major and future career in many ways. Going into it I wasn’t sure how it was going to go because outside of coursework, I had never applied any communications or marketing skills. I was confident that I chose the right major but being able to experience a workplace that I could potentially go into helped verify that. Being able to meet so many people who have careers in communications and marketing helped me view my major and minor more broadly. People always tell me how versatile communications is and with this internship I was able to see that first hand. This internship also increased my confidence in my writing, storytelling, and social media marketing which gives me a better idea of where I want my career to go. Having the responsibility of completing these types of projects made me realize that I truly enjoy this kind of work. I was not only able to work with people at the corporate level but I also had the chance to go to different locations such as the Outer Banks Family YMCA, the Blocker Norfolk Family YMCA and the Greenbrier Family YMCA and hear about people’s Y stories. I was given the opportunity to interview multiple members which I then turned into blog posts for the organization. When visiting the Blocker Norfolk Family YMCA, I was able to sit with the Governor of Virginia's wife, among others, while she talked about her It Only Takes One initiative. Not only have I gained better skills for professional careers but I was also given the opportunity to take part in many different valuable experiences. Between social media, press releases, interviews and storytelling, I was lucky enough to gain a stronger sense of where I want my future career path to go.