While April is observed as National Internship Awareness Month, I have been celebrating for much longer, as I excitedly embarked upon an internship with Mopdog in November. As I rapidly approach graduation from Kennesaw State University in May with a degree in marketing, I can confidently connect the moments that led me to this point, and will continuously guide me in the future.

I vividly remember sitting in my dad’s office in high school trying to decide what major to pursue in college. He had heard of Mopdog from one of his co-workers and pulled up its website, to which we both agreed looked like an industry that suited my strengths pretty well. How crazy it is to think I am here now!

My entire life has cultivated me to be a textbook “type A” perfectionist. Names like “Team Captain” and “Group Leader” have always been familiar pseudonyms, so becoming an intern was uncharted territory for me. Additionally, I began with no industry experience and have never even owned a dog! Despite this, I can surely highlight my time at Mopdog as one of the most motivating experiences I’ve ever participated in.

Interning at Mopdog has given me experiential learning opportunities that have strengthened my skills at both an industry and personal level. I’ve been able to contribute real work for real clients, something that traditional coursework doesn’t offer. I’ve loved getting to learn more about social media, marketing strategy and SEO. Even when I’m not working on a project, just listening to the conversations around me is a huge learning opportunity. In fact, I constantly find myself repeating some of the concepts and key phrases thrown around the office in the classroom. It sounds simple, but being immersed in an environment that only ever existed to me through a textbook has taught me much more than I could’ve imagined.

The largest takeaway I’ve gathered so far is that there is SO much more to learn. A concept that would have frightened me before is now my motivation! I can only continue to improve in a field of work that genuinely intrigues me. I’ve loved getting to observe the firm in its element and can’t wait to find my own soon. After all, weren’t all dogs puppies at one point?