Niagara University - Public Relations

Fall 2016

In the Fall 2016 semester I took on an internship in the Public Relations department on campus. I was the photographer for campus events and I took on the Power of Niagara campaign that was designed for the new campus motto.

Being the public relations office photographer for campus was an amazing position. I am a Communications Studies major and I thought it was time to find an internship that would further my skills in some aspect in my field. Photography is a passion of mine, so after taking the advanced photography class on campus, I knew that having an internship with the public relations office would be extremely helpful in furthering my skills.

Photography was always something that I did for myself on my own time. I had never done event photography or any work that was going to be published. Once I started my internship, I was told what events needed to have a photographer to capture what was happening. The office was amazing at accommodating to my busy schedule on and off campus. This allowed me to choose what events I was able to shoot and what ones I wouldn't be able to make so that someone else could shoot them.

Being able to go to all of the different kinds of events on campus was a great learning experience. I was able to make connections I never thought I would, gain experience in what a public relations office was looking for when capturing an event in photographs, and gaining the most important skill I think I learned out of the whole experience; communicating with others well enough to get the shot that I needed. There is a huge difference between going out and taking photographs of nature or inanimate objects, or even friends, than people at an event who may not want their photograph to be taken.

I used my own personal camera to photograph the events. I have the Canon Rebel t5i and was able to gain even more experience in using my camera during this internship. However, the real skills I was able to learn were communicating with others and working with people at events to get the shots I needed. The skills that I picked up and were able to get comfortable with while going to the events will be irreplaceable.

There were many benefits to holding the position that I did. The biggest benefit to me was the flexibility that I was given. That was the biggest benefit for me because I am a full time student and work two jobs off of campus. Many of the events clashed with my schedule so I actually took on an entirely different project that no other intern has done before. I began the Power of Niagara profiles campaign. I ended up taking the complete lead on the project and it took off without a hitch! It allowed me to work even more on my own time, but I did still take time to shoot events. This led to another benefit because I was able to talk with many different students, faculty and alumni on what the power of Niagara means to them.

The only drawback to the internship was that certain people can have different expectations at events. I only had to actually report to my boss in the public relations department, however, certain contacts at events would have their own expectations for what they wanted. This drawback wasn't necessarily negative, but it could be stressful at times. If anything, I was able to grow from it and realize that you can't please everyone but that you can definitely try to do your best in every situation you find yourself in.

By taking on this internship this past semester, I have realized that I want to pursue a possible career in public relations even more than I have before. Being able to follow my passion with photography made it a very fulfilling position. It made me realize that having a position like I did during my internship, but as a career, would be a dream come true. I plan to graduate in the fall semester of 2017 and have been thinking about more career opportunities lately. After taking on this internship, I have been seriously considering the public relations field a lot more. To do any kind of photography would be a dream career.

To any future interns, all I would have to say is-- follow your dreams. Just do it. At first I was very nervous and unsure of myself. I was afraid of the possibility of my photography skills not being good enough for the professional level of an internship and that the department wouldn't like my work. Although, that was not at all what happened. Instead, I gained new experiences, great connections, got my work published and gained confidence in myself in knowing that now I was capable of something I never had been before.