Contributed by
Michaela S.
As a first-generation student from a low-income community focused on reaching my college and career goals, I’ve come to recognize the importance of internship opportunities to gain relevant experience in my desired professional path. Throughout the workshops from OppNet’s Career Success team, the saying, “you need experience to get experience” often crossed my mind. OppNet provides Fellows with personalized guidance on applying to summer opportunities that will further their career and academic goals. With the support of OppNet, I completed the Yale Young Global Scholars program in Politics, Law and Economics in the summer of 2016. My experience in the program taught me that the most satisfying career I could have would involve some combination of public service and community outreach.
During the spring semester of my sophomore year in college, I completed an internship at a legal services clinic in Los Angeles County that provided direct services to low-income communities of color in Pomona, CA. I found that experience to be extremely rewarding because the impact felt tangible. We serviced clients daily and helped them complete their legal paperwork in one-on-one sessions. Most of the litigants filled out surveys at the end of their session and said they did not know what they would have done if that organization did not exist. I knew then that doing this kind of work would be fulfilling for me in the long term.
Instead of finding another internship experience related to the legal industry like the one I completed in the spring, this semester I decided to step out of my comfort zone and pursue an internship opportunity in public affairs and communications. My research led me to The Raben Group, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm that does work in a variety of areas, ranging from Media & Communications to Issue Campaigns & Movements to Strategic Planning. With the funding assistance from the Pomona College Internship Program, I was able to join the Los Angeles team as the Fall 2019 intern in Issue Campaigns & Movements. At OppNet's Winter College Success Series, I learned the importance of navigating my college’s resources to further my career and educational goals, and these lessons inspired me to become proactive about seeking funding for unpaid internships, like that with The Raben Group. My primary focus while there is to assist staff in using Raben resources to help clients meet their objectives and become agents of cultural change. I have drafted letters for large regional networks, presentations for award ceremonies, and toolkits to assist clients in their community outreach.
Throughout this internship opportunity, I have also been able to explore the media and communications side of the firm. I completed research on charity live streaming among the gaming community of YouTube, tracked media mentions for a client, and updated the Twitter account of a client with regularly scheduled posts on criminal justice reform. These experiences helped to grow my skill set, as well as expand my perspective on what public service and community outreach look like through organizations that have a national impact. I would not have had the opportunity to improve my media literacy and gain skills in communications if I had not stepped out of my comfort zone and into a new direction when it comes to public service and community outreach.
Interning at The Raben Group has taught me how important it is to be able to pursue career exploration through internships. I now know that there is no one way to approach public service or community outreach, which means there is room for me to innovate across those areas. Moving forward, I will use my experience at The Raben Group as motivation to continue exploring my career interests in public service and community outreach and forging my own unique path.
Michaela Shelton is an OppNet Fellow and junior at Pomona College.
