ATC Internship Update #1

Hello, my fellow internet denizens! I've been working really hard at the ATC and doing some really cool stuff, but I finally got some time to write an update about how things have been going and the work I'm doing for them!

First off, I would like to say that the people I work with are super awesome, friendly, intelligent, and just all around fun people to hang out with and that makes the environment a great place to work and feel welcome in! I get to interact with staff members from almost every department in the organization due to it's small size and everyone is great! Some days I even get to chat with the director of our company in the break room as we get coffee (which is for me and not being fetched for other staff members.)

 John, my supervisor, the graphic designer/web developer and Javier, the director of the Communication department are especially awesome to work with. Both of them allow me to be creative with any project I work on and from there, help me refine my ideas to fit company branding standards.They also assist me with any technical problems I run into. Overall, they exceeded my expectations of what it's like working in a professional environment, and while I understand that not all directors or supervisors will be that cool, I am very thankful that mine are really understanding, supportive, and honest about my work and my experience at the ATC.

As far as the work Im doing, I have mostly been working on graphic design projects for the organization such as logo, poster and flyer design, but I do some other things as well regarding video work, photography and marketing/advertisement campaign advisement, but for now, I want to exhibit some projects I completed earlier in the semester.

For my first project, I was tasked with creating a logo for T-shirts and other merchandise with a sporty feel for hikers who hike from Georgia to Maine using the abbreviations for the states to make the acronym GAME. In just an afternoon, I was able to come up with a rough concept of a pair of crossed hiking poles with block type to make it feel sporty, emulating sports logos for reference.  

This project was a fun way to start my work with the ATC because the project was something that they had been wanting to work on for a while but never had the time to work on it. It wasn't something that was time sensitive or that had a deadline so I got to work on it freely without any external pressure. Shortly after though, things got busy again so I couldn't spend any more time on it, but hopefully it will see it's way to the printing press someday!

That concludes my first update post about my internship! I will be sure to post another update in a few days about some more projects I have finished and ones I am currently working on. Thanks for reading in the mean time though!

   

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy Welcomes Me As One Of It's Interns!

As a senior, part of my curiculum in the communication department here at Shepherd University requires me to work at least 140 hours interning with a company or organization that has a division who's purpose is related to my field of study.

Now, the Panhandle of West Virginia isn't necessarily the hub of all things media and communications related, so I knew that finding a an internship that I liked and that I felt would help me get a good job in the future was going to be difficult so I started my search at a job fair and applied for a Discovery Channel internship and a radio station internship in Greencastle, PA which I was accepted to work for. My hope was for me to get the Discovery internship since that one was paid and also a lot more impressive, but alas, I was not selected for a position in their program.

I was pretty bummed that I didn't get that one and I honestly wasn't too excited about the radio station one because of bad hours, no pay and a long drive, so I applied for a intern position at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) in Harpers Ferry last minute hoping that I could get accepted there, and sure enough, out of 500 plus people, I was selected along with 5 other people to be part of the the marketing department there. The internship wasn't paid, but I didn't really mind because of the short drive and the steady work schedule. I was also really excited to work with a not for profit organization because I have concerns about my lending my skills to an organization that seeks to simply make money and nothing else. I want to be part of something bigger with a constructive purpose so the idea of being part of something bigger then business and money was really appealing to me (The casual atmosphere of this place is a plus too!)

In the end, I made peace with my rejection by the Discovery Channel and embraced the opportunity I had been given with the ATC and so far, everything has been wonderful, educational, and fun and I'm very thankful for this experience. I'll be sure to share some of my experiences here in the coming days!