This Tuesday, I officially finished my first internship! It was held here at Marywood for graphic design students who were unable to drive around—which is obviously great for those of us (like me) without cars on campus. From the start of the semester through the end, I was so excited to get some real world experience rather than just learn in a classroom.

There were seven of us design students all together and a professor here, Steven Brower, ran the internship. We worked with non-profit organizations to make them whatever it was they needed which included logos, website designs, and even a design to brand a whole conference. Most projects were created individually—though there were a few partner projects, presented to a client, and then the client would choose whichever he or she liked best. Presenting to an actual client rather than your classmates—who you’ve known for three years—is a whole different ballpark, let me tell you, but I definitely learned a lot.

During the course of this internship I really felt my design skills grow, and the idea of being in competition with others really helped me up my game. What? I’m competitive! I can’t help it. Some of my favorite work was created in the past two months for this internship, and I am so grateful that I had this opportunity and didn’t need a car!