Newsletter
of the Washington College Department of Business Management | Spring
2001
One
student's story: the Annapolis internship experience
Marilyn McDonald
Marilyn McDonald graduated from Washington College in May 2000, winning
recognition as a finalist in the newly instituted Schottland Business
Leadership Award. McDonald, now an executive trainee at Ruder Finn, an
international public relations agency based in New York City, had two
significant internship experiences as a Washington College student. In
the summer of 1999, a Johnson fellowship allowed her to work as an accounting
intern at the Aspen Institute, a prominent global forum and research foundation.
In
Spring 1999 Marilyn participated in the College's Maryland General Assembly
Internship program. Here she talks about her internship experience and
how it helped prepare her for a career after graduation.
I interned for the Department of Budget and Management
(DBM) during the 1999 legislative session. It was an intensive first-hand
look at the political process. I attended hearings, researched bills for
my supervisor and attended weekly meetings to discuss bills pertinent
to DBM. There were tons of paperwork to manage—over a hundred House
and Senate bills apiece plus supporting material, so I did lots of basic
filing. The internship gave me a glimpse of how the legislative process
works on a day-to-day basis at the state level, and what issues ordinary
Americans actually care about. I learned how laws are really made, and
how intensely political the political process can be.
My internship experience was directly relevant to what I'm doing now at
Ruder Finn. I learned about many aspects of public relations. I honed
my presentation and speaking skills, for instance, when I gave my input
on bills I had researched. I improved my research and writing skills as
I wrote synopses of bills. I also wrote a paper for my internship on a
bill raising the tobacco tax. Above all I learned the power and importance
of skillful public relations. I have no doubt my internship played a big
role in landing my current job.
If I could give students one piece of advice, it would be to actively
seek out internship opportunities. How? For one, never underestimate the
power of Washington Collegešs Career Center. The Career Center (http://career.washcoll.edu)
helped me research internship opportunities (including the DBM internship
I ended up with) and draft a good resume (students should work up a resume
early on, ideally by their sophomore year).
I started out my internship, frankly, not knowing very much about politics
or public relations. I ended up with an incredible experience and an entry
to an exciting career. That's what I call experiential learning!
Washington College is always looking for more internship experiences for
our students. Any alumni interested in exploring internship opportunities
should contact Dr. Linda Cades at the Career Center (linda.cades @washcoll.
edu) or the Business Management faculty (terrence.scout @washcoll.edu
and michael. harvey@washcoll.edu). If you'd like us to consider profiling
in this newsletter an intern whošs worked for your firm, drop us a line
at biz@washcoll. edu.