Internships are mandatory for certain majors at Kent State University and students turned it into an opportunity to achieve their dreams. 

Macy Rosen, senior public relations major, spent her summer catching planes in Atlanta and interning at Delta Air Lines. 

“I came to Kent State enrolled as an aeronautics major to be a pilot,” Rosen said. “I really was interested in being a pilot. I just always have loved traveling and flying.”

Rosen changed her major to public relations, but her interest in the airline industry was still there. 

During a Public Relations Student Society of America conference, Rosen networked with Gina Laughlin, Vice President of Global Communications at Delta, and built a connection essential to getting her internship. 

“Everything just came full circle to me,” Rosen said. “I wanted this internship for years, so it was like years in the making.”

Even though her position did not require traveling, Rosen enjoyed the perk Delta employees have of flying standby at almost no cost. Through this, she was able to visit different countries and go to Europe for the first time.

“I worked from Monday to Thursday in the Atlanta office and on Fridays we were hybrid,” Rosen said. “I might have spent one or two weekends in Atlanta.”

Rosen was a part of the human resources communications team and worked closely on Delta Perks, the benefits program for employees, and with the internal social media team. She also worked on a special project the company held for veterans on D-Day’s 80th anniversary.

One of the main learning experiences Rosen had during her time with Delta was the company’s response to the CrowdStrike crash, which immensely affected the airline operations.

“I was able to see how Gina responded to that as a leader, and how she supported the team during that time,” Rosen said. “So that was a leadership experience that I got to see firsthand and learn a lot from.”

Stefanie Moore, professor and internship coordinator for public relations and advertising students, followed Rosen’s path to conquering her dream internship. 

“I was extremely proud of her to be able to land an internship at that level in the area of her dream job,” Moore said. “It just made me feel really happy for her.”

Moore said internships prepare students for the job market, but can also be a way to get a glimpse of different areas of interest or industries. She reinforced that internships are more than checking a graduation box requirement.

“I love watching my students succeed, I know that’s all we want, that’s all this faculty wants,” Moore said. “We want to watch you succeed in your academic life, as well as in your careers and in life.”

Vincent Throckmorton, a senior digital media production major, flew to Los Angeles to intern at 1895 Films, a documentary film company. 

“I was a theater performance major before,” said Throckmorton. “I switched to DMP because I realized how much I liked the idea of television and film acting compared to stage acting.”

Through networking with Tom Jennings, Kent State alumnus and CEO of 1895 Films, Throckmorton got his internship after a few Zoom interviews. He was hired as the intern director, and his position consisted of doing motion graphics and editing. 

“They’re a documentary company, so it was a lot of going through archival files and footage and then editing those together and working on smoothing some titles,” he said. 

Throckmorton said even though he intends to work with narrative production, going to Los Angeles and getting the experience where the main productions are set was an incredible experience. 

“It’s so rare for a student in Kent State to get an internship in Los Angeles, and I’m very grateful for that opportunity, and that really made it a dream,” he said. “It is such a rare occasion that someone who’s going through the DMP program gets to do that while they’re still in college, and gets to experience what the actual industry is like, and not the fantasies that we get in our head for it.”

Anne Louise Pesch Kruklis, a fashion design major in her senior year, is currently doing a semester away in New York while interning at Heike-NY.

“I needed to do an internship for my major, but I was more focused on the opportunity of doing an internship in fashion while in New York,” Kruklis said. “The whole idea just feels like a dream, it’s kind of being the characters of all the movies I watched growing up.”

Kruklis is a fashion design intern and her position entails a list of tasks that change daily.

“Heike-NY is not divided into big departments like you usually see within big names in the fashion industry,” said Kruklis. “We do everything ourselves and I try to help with everything I can, which takes me to doing many different tasks.”

Life in New York City is as chaotic as expected, said Kruklis; balancing an internship with her classes, projects and personal life is a tiring but extremely rewarding experience.

She said volunteering at Harlem’s Fashion Row’s 17th annual fashion show during New York Fashion Week was a highlight from her semester.  

Kruklis said it is one of those moments that comes to mind every once in a while, and she is trying to embrace and enjoy all these kinds of opportunities. 

“The thing I love the most about this whole experience is that I am working on many different areas and tasks within the company,” Kruklis said. “I can explore and learn a bit from everything that is essential to get the job done while also discovering my likes and dislikes. I would not have this much experience anywhere else.”

Ana Julia Cechin Facco is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].