Spears and arrows

Do you remember when your mother told you not to talk to strangers? Well, times have changed. I talked to a perfect stranger and got a terrific internship.

Friday night at work, I began making conversation with a couple seated at the bar. They were interested in where I went to school, what my major was and how I was paying for school. I briefly explained to them a little bit about Georgia College & State University and the Georgia HOPE; then I told them about the mass communication program at the school. I am going to school to be a public relations specialist.

A few minutes later, the man sitting beside them began to ask me similar questions. When I told him that I wanted to work in the public relations field, he said, “Well, today is your lucky day.” The man I had been talking to is the head of the media relations department for the Chambliss branch of the Atlanta Department of Transportation.

Needless to say, I was ecstatic. If you are a mass communication student, you realize the importance of contacts and possible internships. I told him that I had to do an internship over the summer, and he gave me his card and told me to give him a call in February. He offered to set me up in his office, and he would be personally responsible for me.

As part of my internship with the Atlanta DOT, I would be responsible for writing press releases, speeches, putting together media kits and surveying crash sites. At the fatal crash sites, I would survey the damage and handle the media. I am going to learn so many things that will help to shape my career.

This kind of thing never happens to me. I never just have someone say, “Looking for an internship, here you go!” That stuff always happens to other people; however, now I know, I never would have received an opportunity like this one if I hadn’t talked to him.

Now, the point of my editorial, I’m sure everyone was waiting for this one. Don’t be shy. You never know what will come about if you just put yourself out there and talk to someone you wouldn’t normally talk to. You might (like me) be given the opportunity that you always dreamed of.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 18 2002. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry