Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Thursday and Friday have taught me some valuable lessons not only for the office but in the real world as well. First and foremost, do not ever spend more than 10 hours putting together an Excel spreadsheet. All that will come from it is confusion and lots of wasted paper. Secondly, and probably most important: if you do not understand something, simply ask for help. The task yesterday was to compile all of the middle and high schools in Boca Raton, their addresses, principals and contact information, anyone in the music departments, and someone in the community relations department. Sounds easy, right? NOT!!! This took me and another intern Jennifer all day yesterday to begin and most of this afternoon. When I printed out the sheet to see what holes needed to be filled, it was just about as tall as me. I asked my boss what she thought I should do and she told me all I needed to do was ask for help! I suppose that all the fear about admitting I needed help was silly because as a team, we produced a stellar final product!

 I'm really proud of all the work I've done in the past two days and considering that it is 4:10pm on Friday of Memorial Day weekend, I'm pretty much mentally checked out. Another cool thing I did was publish press releases to many online wires. Lots of learning but I am more than excited for the weekend and my permenant 3-day-weekends to come!!

From this scary sheet.......

....To this compact and not so scary one!

Happy Wednesday!

Today was a fun day in the office! I was able to continue with some work from yesterday for a huge event in February but of course, I don't have all the information yet. Hopefully soon! One thing that I learned today that was really enforced throughout all of my years of school is the importance of taking notes. I was asked to watch a video and take down important information and statistics to be put in a press release. The speed of note taking is key to making sure that all the facts are there and that the boss is kept happy!

Aside from work, I've been trying to keep busy down here in not so sunny Florida. At a marketing event I attended up in North Carolina, one piece of important information that I took away from a writing seminar was to write for yourself. I spend all day writing for my boss and our clients and if I don't write for myself, there's a chance my personal writing style could fade. Not only is this blog a cool way of documenting my internship but a way of sharing my life to my friends and family up in Connecticut and all over. For me personally, the transition to moving here has been a bit rocky. I love our house but I still don't know how to get around very well! It's a good thing that the plaza near our community has a grocery store, nail salon, bank, and Panera all in one, otherwise I'd be lost. The goal for the summer is to make friends down here! Hopefully it happens sooner than later :)

Week 2 of Interning

I started Week 2 of my internship today and it has been nonstop! Whenever a client has an event, not only do we write the news release to be sent out to all of our different media contacts but we also create a calendar release to be sent out to many different community and social sites to be put on their events calendar. I kind of wish that these sites operated like the Common App - put all the info in once and then click send but sadly it does not! 22 times I had to input all the information for the event into the different sites. Although the work was tedious, it taught me how much really goes into having a client. Not only do you have to make sure they are held in the best light, but also that their events are being put out there and that the public knows about it. Another cool thing about putting events into different sites calendars are that some ask you to generate a list of "key words." These are words that a viewer may type in and my posting would be generated from it, almost how Google works. This was fun to create because I had to think like someone who would be attending my event, not just the intern.

My boss likes to have me do research for her as well. Today I researched radio stations in South Florida that we did not already have media contacts with as well as different hamburger contests and events! It seems silly when thinking about what I have been doing for the past week but my boss knows what she's doing!

My favorite thing that I will do later in the week is generate Facebook posts for our website and all of our clients pages to be able to post in the future. This is fun because I am able to do some interesting research about different holidays, events, etc. happening all over and apply them to the customer.

So far, everything is great! Check out downtownboca.org to check out some of the things I've been working on!

The Life of an Intern

This Monday, I started my summer internship at Kaye Communications and it has been everything I've hoped and dreamed. Almost everything that I have learned in my Foundations of Strategic Communications and Principles of Marketing courses have helped me in my work. This really shows how High Point University is preparing its students for the real world, work life. After the introductions with the other people in the office, we found a great connection! The other intern, Jennifer, a rising senior at Univeristy of Florida, is also an Alpha Chi Omega. Not only is my co-worker a fun and interesting person to work with but a sister as well! This week I have been doing a lot of writing, which I love. I've been given press releases to edit and to my surprise, my boss Bonnie loved them! It's pretty cool that my work will be released all over the internet and possibly in print. My other boss Jon has been teaching me techniques for writing releases which will be so helpful in the future. I also learned how to work the coolest machine in the world called a Neat machine. This scans business cards, receipts, and any documents you want and converts them into digital PDF's as well as an online contact book. As silly as it sounds, I was able to put in over 50 contacts into the company's online contact book. Although this is a small task, it will be really helpful to the company as a whole. Today, I answered the phone for the first time, which was a bit scary because I was fearful of what questions the caller might have had, but thankfully I only had to take a message! For a communications major and someone that never shuts up, why would I have been scared to answer the phone!



Another cool thing that happened this week was that I turned 20 on Tuesday! After a long day of work, I met my dad and grandma for dinner on Atlantic at Cut 432, where we dined on delicious salads and chops. I was able to get my birthday wish from a candle stuck into the most delicious piece of Marscapone cheesecake. Paired with French-press coffee, the dessert was lovely. I had a great birthday celebration and am looking forward to the year ahead!

Make a Wish!

Let's go to the beach, beach, let's go get away

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day to sit at the beach. The hardest decisions: shade or sun and what to drink. Rough life, I know. Alternating between a lounge chair in the sun, a covered cabana, and the crystal blue ocean that was the perfect temperature, today was probably the best day so far. 

Last night, we were treated to 80 minute massages under the stars. After soaking in the jacuzzi and relaxing in the sauna and steam rooms, we were brought outside to a private area with a few cabanas and a pool. The massage tables were outside, right under the stars! Between the almond oil and fresh air, I was in heaven. I consider myself to be a well-traveled spa go-er, so this set the standards pretty high. But wait, it gets better. When arriving at the beach this morning, I saw by far one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life. A two-story cabana for massages, on the beach. After sunshine and lunch, we were brought up to the second floor for 50 minute massages. No need to put a nature soundtrack on here, the sound of the crashing waves and the breeze put me into a massage coma. We just got back from our massages so my relaxation level is about a zillion. Could not be happier!! This has turned out to be such a beautiful vacation. I am sad that tomorrow is our last full day here but excited for many more adventures in the future!

Massages by the beach!

The entrance to the spa

Beach Massage Cabana

Paradisus Palma Real

Last night we were treated royally to a feast at the Coco's beachside restaurant at Paradisus Caribe, a neighboring hotel in the same hotel family as ours. We first took a tour of the hotel at Paradisus Palma Real. The two hotels are on the same huge property. GORGEOUS! 

The hotel's lobby was open to see the stars with lots of water features. Rafael told us that during Christmas time, all of the trees are decorated with lights! Not much convincing needed to come back and see it for myself :)

This is the member's only beach that we would be able to use! I love the lighted beds right on the beach!

After the tour we sat down for our feast. We were given the best service because our waiter was a former employee of Rafael. He brought us bottled water and fresh tortilla chips before we even ordered. We first were served different ceviche options. The shrimp ceviche was delicious with cold peppers and onions. Mom had an octopus ceviche and despite my efforts to try new foods, I was still a little creeped out by octopus! Next we were brought the biggest portions of food I have ever seen in my life. I ordered a flank steak and mom a lobster. I was good here and even tried a piece of grilled onion. My close friends and sisters know, onions and I don't mix well. Although I had high hopes for a Dominican onion, I still haven't grown a liking for them. We enjoyed the evening eating and getting to know Rafael better! He's made sure our trip here has been perfect!

 Posing in front of the fountains in the courtyard at Palma Real!

 The lobster!

 My dinner! Flank steak rolled up with beautiful grilled vegetables and a grilled baked potato!

The view from our table: the beach!

Dinner was such a great time! It's a gorgeous day outside now so we're pool bound again! Tonight we are being treated to 80 minute massages, under the stars! 

Mom and me enjoying our dinner!

Punta Cana: Day 2

With a late night watching a Michael Jackson show and dancing in the lobby to Don Omar, mom and I didn't wake up until 10 this morning. Saddened at the fact that we missed breakfast in the Gabi dining room downstairs, we thought quickly on our toes and decided to order room service, delivered to our balcony. Here's a sneak peak of what dining outside in the tropics is like :) Off to enjoy a day of sunshine! 

We spent all morning and afternoon at the pool, venturing from our circular lounge bed to the in-pool tiled lounge chairs! Tough decisions, I know. This type of relaxation is MUCH needed! We are going to the beach soon! Buenos Dias!

Day One: Punta Cana

Today was our first full day in Punta Cana. After a somewhat restless night with no air conditioning and a few bed crawlers (actually though!) we met up with our guide Yves (who called himself Yves Saint Laurent) to get breakfast and take a tour of the hotel. Little did we know that we would be passed along to many different representatives, ultimately ending with Rafael. He took us to the beautiful Reserve where we had a breakfast of gorgeous fresh fruits, cheeses, and juices. We then toured the property. I have to say, I could get used to the tropical life. Despite living in Florida, the lifestyle here is even more relaxed. After filling out lots of paperwork, we eventually were able to be moved into The Reserve section of the hotel and are now able to travel to any of the Melia hotels around the world. I'm already planning Spring Break with the crew from High Point. We had lunch at the Italian restaurant here. I had fresh chicken raviolis with homemade pesto sauce on top! We made our way back to our highly air conditioned (much appreciated) room, unpacked, and made our way to the pool. Laying on a two-person lounge chair we snacked on grilled chicken sausages. Not a bad way to end an afternoon! Tonight we are going to see a Michael Jackson show at the main hotel. So far, I am loving Punta Cana! Everyone should get to see a tropical island like this once in their life. Even though most people say that going on vacation means being completely cut off from the world, I still enjoy having wifi on my laptop and phone. I am excited for all that there is to come! Tomorrow we are being treated at the Royal Palma Resort to a lobster and steak dinner with Rafael and on Tuesday we are getting moonlight massages on the beach! What a beautiful place to be :)