So, I'm an intern now..

My name is Elana Wigfall and I am a Public Affairs intern for Latoya Graddy in The Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) Program Office (PMA-290). I’m from Charles County, Md. and I am an upcoming junior at Towson University.

As an intern at the Patuxent River naval air station you are exposed to a completely different side of Public Affairs. Just like the other intern Courtney mentioned, I, too, am an advertising major. The difference between her and I is instead of being under the strategic communications umbrella I am under the mass communications umbrella.

What I value most about the internship program here at Pax River, is the endless opportunities we are provided. I appreciate the opportunity to build professional relationships, I appreciate our exposure to the different aspects of public affairs, and most importantly I appreciate not being thrown out to the wolves; in a sense that I know I am not alone on this journey. With more than supportive mentors, I am not only distinguishing my distinctive writing voice but I am perfecting it to my best capability as well, with the help of my mentor.

Last week, I worked diligently on two articles that will be featured in next week’s Tester newspaper. Every Wednesday, the interns have an info meeting where we learn about something new that we can use to our advantage each week. Last week we learned about journalism ethics and how to avoid biases from your writing. We are constantly learning new versatile information here at Pax River. If it isn’t useful during our internship here I’m almost 100% sure it’s useful elsewhere. During the short duration here at my internship I’ve already been exposed to info graphics, I was able to take pictures with a canon camera of an employee appreciation picnic, and I learned how to write brief, but informational captions.

As a college student preparing to enter the real world, everything you do counts towards your future. Being an intern is all about making yourself more appealing by strengthening your strong points and weeding out your weaknesses. An internship can either work as a lesson for the future, a potential employment opportunity, or as a chance to put you one step closer to your dream job.