My name is Emma Golden, and I am a Communication Studies major and Leadership Studies and Creative and Cultural Industries minor. This semester, I have had the pleasure of interning at CLD PR in Los Angeles.

The view from the office!

In February, I started my internship at the Los Angeles based PR firm CLD PR. CLD PR helps clothing,  jewelry, makeup, and other types of brands improve their image and scope of reach by connecting with public figures to help give these brands more visibility. This is my first internship, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect going into it. As I headed up to the office, I was filled with nerves and excitement as to what the first branch or my future career may hold. I found the internship via Linkedin and was brought onto the team within a week of applying. Nearly three months in, it is safe to say it’s been a great learning experience. I chose to do the internship in person, as opposed to remotely, because I wanted in-office experience. This experience and the chance to create relationships with those in the office have been well worth the lengthy commute. My favorite thing about the internship is that the interns get the opportunity to try new tasks each week. The firm consists of a celebrity team, an influencer team, a media team, an events team, and a showroom team. Each week the interns are matched with an employee on one of these teams. I have gotten the opportunity to work with the celebrity, showroom, media, and influencer teams. For the influencer team, I have helped make graphics for pitches and pull together lists of influencers who are the right fit to send PR gifts to.  For the showroom team, I helped check in clothes and jewelry that stylists returned to us. This helps us keep track of all of our inventory. I have enjoyed working with influencers and media the most because I get to combine my interest in social media and pop culture when trying to find public figures that may be a good fit for brands that are clients of CLD. CLD also offers many opportunities to work at fun events all across Southern California. I have found that being eager to learn has been vital to this experience. When there is an opportunity to try a new task versus something I already know how to do, I always take the new task. This has helped me maximize my short time at the firm. Employees at CLD also value this quality in interns and are always open to answering questions whenever I have them. The work environment is collaborative and friendly. The staff has good relationships with each other, and the leadership treats all of the staff with respect and attempts to help staff members grow. I am sad to soon be ending my time at CLD, but I am grateful for the amazing opportunity I have had to learn and grow.

The showroom. Various clothes and accessories from Clients of CLD are kept here to loan out to stylists of influencers and celebrities!