By Sofia Zipparo, PR Intern
This summer, I had the pleasure of being Sonnhalter’s PR Intern. I can still remember the whole process of vying for this internship a couple of months ago. Throughout the rounds of interviews that I went through and then finally receiving the email confirming that I had landed the role, I was ecstatic knowing that I had been chosen. As my internship is coming to an end, I’d like to recap how high my expectations were before beginning and how it most definitely has followed through.
Throughout my time here, I was exposed to different writing styles that I wasn’t as well-versed in when I began. I was used to a narrative way of writing and had barely tampered with the ways of professional writing, such as news or press releases. Quickly, I learned the golden rule of “short and sweet” and how the implementation of this is imperative in news and PR writing.
Another aspect of my internship that taught me a lot about the PR, marketing and advertising industry would be generating graphics for our various clients (Wright, NIBCO, PHCC CONNECT, etc). While attending John Carroll University, I currently serve on the board of two different clubs and create content for their social media profiles. Before my internship at Sonnhalter, I had toyed around with Canva but only on a minor level. Now, as my internship is approaching its end, the Sonnhalter team has taught me a great amount of knowledge about how to use Canva while utilizing a brand’s coloring, font and logo. This skill, amongst many that I’ve learned while being here, will be forever useful for future endeavors, especially with the continued rise of social media.
Following previously from talking about writing styles, one other way of writing that I learned how to do well throughout this internship would be blog writing. For blog writing, it does incorporate a more narrative style of writing, but it still insists the notion of “short and sweet.” While at Sonnhalter, I have written many insightful blogs on a various amount of topics, ranging from biographical to educational to technological. Be sure to check out all of our blogs written on our website.
One of the major factors in working at an agency is to actually face the clients that you are working with. Throughout my internship, I’ve been given the opportunity to actually visit the places that I am writing about. Babcox Media and Wright Tool Company, both located in Ohio, were happy to give me a look into how each of their companies function on a day-to-day basis. Both were great to visit, and it was nice to actually see these companies, versus just typing about them. For our Annual Tool Drive as well, I was able to visit each manufacturer’s site to see how they function, while dropping off each donation box. It was a beneficial experience since I had never really been exposed to any trade workplace before.
As an overall, I can confidently say that I have gained and learned so much from being apart of the Sonnhalter team for the 2024 summer. The insightful information that was taught to me about all of the ins and outs of the PR, marketing and advertising industry, especially in a niche industry such as the trades, will be valuable information that I’m able to bring with me anywhere I go and end up.
