I had a plan.

I knew I was leaning towards a public relations career

Katherine Kellar

So, I did what any normal student would do to secure a job after I graduated from college. I attended networking events, wrote for my college newspaper, landed an internship opportunity at Excela Health in Westmoreland County, and excelled at my studies. When I secured a full-time entry-level job in Pittsburgh three months prior to my college graduation, I was elated.

Two months prior to my graduation I received a telephone call that changed life as I knew it. My brother had been on his second tour in Iraq. On March 14, 2007 he and his men were in a Stryker unit headed into Baghdad. A roadside bomb exploded underneath the vehicle. His driver was immediately killed. My brother survived the accident, but was severely and permanently injured.

I had a plan.

In this time of crisis, my plan for a public relations career was temporarily pushed to the back of my mind. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to turn down my job offer, and move home after graduation – two hours away from Pittsburgh. My family needed me.

During my time at home, I applied to hundreds of full-time jobs – but to no avail. Not only was I up against recent college graduates, but I was also up against individuals who had been laid off during the economic downturn – some with 5, 10 or 15+ years of experience on me. Soon my interviews became an endless stream of  “You lack the real-world experienced for this position.”

How could I possibly get “real-world experience” if no one would hire me?

I became frustrated. Then I remembered my pr internship at Excela Health. I knew that an internship was an important component to the career success that I was hoping to obtain. Maybe one pr internship on my resume wasn’t enough. I remembered a professor of mine once told our class that The Regional Internship Center  (RIC) was a wonderful resource to use in order to gain professional growth and better prepare us to enter the workforce.

So, I logged on to www.TheRegionalInternshipCenter.org and created an account. I was impressed with how easy and user-friendly the website actually was. Not only was the website easy to navigate, but I was immediately thrilled to see that I had hundreds of internship opportunities at my finger tips. My dream of moving to Pittsburgh was still very much reverberating within me, and The Regional Internship Center brought me one step closer to my dream.

I applied, interviewed, and accepted an internship opportunity with the RIC. For the first few months of my internship I drove two hours to work and two hours home each day until I was able to make the move to Pittsburgh. I was hungry for experience.

The support and insight that Regina Anderson and Trisha Ross bestowed upon me during my time at the RIC was inspiring. Any time I had a question or needed to make a decision they were there supporting my strengths and offering me feedback.

I was introduced to numerous organizations in and around Pittsburgh, attended a variety of networking events, and honed my professional skills. Looking back now, my experience at Coro Pittsburgh and the RIC was by far one of my best internship experiences. I can honestly say that I felt like a member of the team from day one.

After a year of test-driving a variety of career opportunities through different internships,

I was able to secure a full-time job opportunity at Douglas Education Center as the Public Relations Coordinator. I am utilizing everything that I’ve learned during my time as an intern in my current position. Organization, creativity, and most importantly confidence in myself, and my abilities, all lend a hand to my successful career.

click here for PR internship opportunities at www.theregionalinternshipcenter.org