(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of stories about College of Communications students completing summer internships.)
Although she’s an advertising/public relations major, Rachael David has been part bulldog, part gymnast during her career at Penn State.
She has consistently and tenaciously chased opportunities, making the most of club memberships and extracurricular affairs, while maintaining a strong grade-point average and staying busy year round, balancing academics and activities.
This summer that includes two internships. One started 13 months ago with WebpageFX, a search-engine optimization firm in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and another started this week with Tierney Communications, a Philadelphia-based advertising agency. David, from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, works in Tierney’s Harrisburg office.
“Being able to live at home and complete an internship with a company like Tierney is wonderful,” David said. “My parents have been my support system throughout college, and the rent is certainly the right price. Best of all, it’s going to be a great position, allowing me to get a lot of different experiences and really get an understanding of the business. Being able to combine that with my experience with WebpageFX should help me a lot.”
David, the second of three daughters for Barbara and Jim David, arrived at Penn State interested in getting engaged but not exactly sure of her direction. She volunteered for the Penn State Dance Marathon and explored a couple of extra curricular activities, things she considered typical freshman exercises.
By her sophomore year, though, David was starting to formulate a plan. Support from the College of Communications was important in that process, she said.
“The College of Communications had a lot to do with that, and with both of my internships. I met an alumnus at a ‘Life After Carnegie’ session sponsored by the college, and eventually got an interview with WebpageFX from that,” David said. “In addition, I talked to recruiters for Tierney at the on-campus career fair. I actually applied last year and did not get it, and they were impressed that I came back this year.”
David gleaned advice and expertise from faculty members and a variety of campus visitors and decided to remain busy, but to focus the majority of her efforts on a few primary opportunities and organizations. During the 2015-16 academic year, she’ll serve as president of Her Campus Penn State, a student-driven online lifestyle site, and a member of the executive board of the Public Relations Student Society of America.
The internships and opportunities have already shaped her potential career path. “I could see myself in a couple of different places. I really think I’ll be involved in social media at some point,” she said. “I didn’t come to college thinking I’d have a career in social media, but I see that more and more. Ideally, my dream job is editorial work, and creative. Maybe that’ll be at a magazine.”
Until then, she just plans to stay busy -- and balanced. “That’s probably my biggest challenge,” she said. “It’s great to get all the experience and try to do a lot of things, but you also have to realize it’s not possible to do everything.”