Hello, my name is Bridget O’Neill, and I am a rising Communication Studies major and minoring in Integrated Educational Studies. This summer, I had the privilege of working for Nadel Phelan Inc, which specializes in technology public relations and marketing for mid-size businesses and startups. NPI is based out of Santa Cruz, CA; however, due to COVID-19, they have chosen to remain remote. Despite the entirety of my internship being remote, it was still an amazing learning experience.

During my Junior year of college, I began to take more communication and SCC courses and discovered my passion for marketing and PR. Spring semester, I was enrolled in SCC 305 Marketing Through Communication Lense, which kick-started my love for marketing. I then began looking for marketing and public relations internships to apply for this summer. While on the hunt for a summer internship, my neighbor mentioned that the company she works for was looking for a summer intern and suggested that I apply for the position. I then reached out to the intern coordinator with my updated resume and a writing sample. After reviewing my resume, writing sample, and three interviews, I was offered the summer intern position at NPI and was their first non-UCSC student intern!

Use the Right Data to Measure the Value of PR - Nadel Phelan

Nadel Phelan Meeting

I started working for Nadel Phelan part-time at the beginning of June by working every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The first two weeks of my internship were jammed packed and consisted of meetings and trainings. They also utilized this time to familiarize me with the software that I would be using throughout the duration of my internship such as Microsoft Teams, Excel, Muck Rack, Sharepoint, and BaseCamp. One training that my advisor assigned to me during my first week was a client scavenger hunt, in which I had to learn about each of the clients I would be assisting with. I found this activity to be extremely helpful because I am a tactile learner and learn from doing, this activity allowed me to grasp a better understanding of each client and explore each one individually. 

Muck Rack | Benefits

PR Software, Muck Rack

As I progressed in my internship I became a lot more comfortable with the software that they use and the weekly tasks that I was given. On a typical work week, some of the tasks that were delegated to me were the development of briefing background documents and pitches, development, and organization of media lists, development of new media targets, transcribing recorded calls/meetings, track, compile and sending out bi-weekly events and awards updates, and ongoing maintenance of contributed article opportunities. Although the tech world is a new industry for me I felt as though my previous classes at Chapman had prepared and given me some insights into marketing and PR.

 

 

Moving forward in my internship I learned a lot about the public relations and marketing world and feel very fortunate for the experience that I was granted. Although the entirety of my internship was remote I felt that my supervisor did an excellent job with keeping us connected and always being available when I had questions. Interning with Nadel Phalen has been a wonderful learning experience that I believe will help me with my future work endeavors.