Experiencing Experience

Carla Certeza

This was a summer of firsts: my first time living in a house on my own [with roommates], and my first time getting experience closer to the kind of work that I want to be doing for my career. I’ve had summer jobs in the past—clerical worker, camp counselor—but I’ve never had work experience in my college major, graphic design, until now.

This summer, I’ve kept busy with two Purdue graphic design internships—one with Liberal Arts Career Development and one with Housing and Food Services Marketing. Because the two internships were structured differently, I was able to experience different aspects of the business world.

With Liberal Arts Career Development, there were only two interns over the summer, so my job included more general office tasks and management, along with design projects. Because I was the design “expert,” I felt that it was my responsibility to take initiative to improve designs that I thought could be further developed. I had more authority and independence, but less guidance since I didn’t work under an art director. I also had to complete a large portion of my work on my own time because we were only in the office five hours a week.

With Housing and Food Services Marketing, there is a team of graphic design interns who work year round. It has a graphic design and marketing focus, along with a more creative and social environment. Over the summer, we work thirty hours a week. This internship has more of an "employee" feel since we clock in and out and work under an art director. It is closer to what I want to be doing in the future.

Throughout the school year, I will be continuing my internship with Housing and Food Services Marketing, but unfortunately, I will not be continuing my internship with Liberal Arts Career Development. I am grateful for each of these experiences because I gained valuable knowledge from both, such as insight on work etiquette, time management, and design. I will be able to add more work to my design portfolio as well.

I am glad that I could contribute to Liberal Arts Career Development to help other students prepare for their future. This will be my last blog, but be sure to check your email for the interactive ‘welcome back’ PDF when school starts!

Good luck with all your future endeavors.