Jess' blog
Class of 2008, Communication Major, from Negaunee, MI

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated! Ever since coming back from spring break my life has been absolutely crazy!

So an update on the interviews in DC: They were all great experiences for me, but none of them worked out the way I would have liked. I am still waiting to hear back on a couple of other positions though.

I got an offer from the Washington Wizards but I don't think I am going to take it. Even though it is a step in the right direction I do not think I can make a living off of the pay they offered. The representative I talked to wanted a one year commitment and I do not want to commit to it and then have something come up that is better pay and has a benefits package.

I picked up my cap and gown the other day! I cannot believe it is that time already! Time really does fly! Hopefully I am able to finish everything on my to-do list and be ready to graduate in exactly two weeks from today!!

I will be updating real soon! Stay tuned!

Jess

Hey Everyone,

I hope everyone had a great spring break. I know I did. For spring break this year I went to the east coast. I went to Washington D.C. for three priliminary job interviews which ended up being four! All of the companies I interviewed for were Marketing companies with the exception of the Washington Wizards who are a professional basketball team.

The trip started out at 4 am on St. Patricks Day, heading to the airport. I arrived in DC at around 10 am CST and headed straight for the Metro which is the underground train that I love because it takes me basically anywhere I need to go in the DC Metro area. We arrived at the hotel a couple of hours before my first interview. My mom and a friend had come a long for the experience so as soon as we unpacked we went to grab a bit to eat before my first interview. After eating I changed into my suit and was ready to show the world what I was made of. I made it to my first interview without any problems, ands went up to the office and when I opened the door I noticed five other candidates for the position waiting to be interviewed. I had to sit and wait 30 minutes before it was my turn to go in. The interview went very well, they invited me back later in the week for a second interview but the timing just was not going to work so they said if I was ever in town again to call and they would have my resume on file. After the interview we made or way to the Verizon Center where we watched the Washington Wizards take on the Atlanta Hawks. That was a blast.

On Tuesday I had a phone interview with the second company so we were able to go out and do things in the area as long as I was in a quiet place at the time of my interview. So we got up early and headed downtown DC where I showed my friend all of the monuments and memorials. I did my interview sitting on the path by the reflection pool! The interview went well and said they would get back to me at the beginning of April if I was chosen for a second interview!

My third interview on Wednesday was near my hotel so I was able to take a bus to the office. The man who interviewed me was very excited and everything went well and he said he would call me later that evening to let me know where I rank, but he never did. So I am still waiting to hear back from them.

After the third interview I called the Washington Wizards because I interned for them last spring when I was in DC and wanted to stop by and see how everyone was doing. So I got there and they have brand new office space now in the Verizon Center rather than across the street. It is amazing! I walked in and everyone asked me how I was doing and why I didn't have a job there yet. So the secretary I worked closely with called the Human Resource Director who I have been trying to get in touch with for months and got me in with her right away. The HR Director then gave me two positions that just became available and is going to give my resume to the appropriate people! The Vice President of Sales also told me to call him and he'll see what he can do. They really want me back there so cross your fingers and hope that it works out!

I hope everyone had as an exciting of a break as I did!

Until next time,

Jess

Hey everyone!

I hope you are getting excited for spring break! I am excited but I am also a bit nervous. I cannot believe there is only two months until graduation. That means I have to enter the real world and have a job that I am hopefully happy with to pay my own bills!

Over the week of spring break I am flying to the east coast. Some may be asking why go somewhere without a beach? Well, Washington, D.C. is where I hope to live after graduation and start a career.

After countless hours of searching monster.com, I sent my resume to various companies in the DC metro area which includes Maryland and Virginia. Most of the jobs I applied for were sales and marketing positions. I ended up landing three interviews!

I fly out of Green Bay on Monday the 17th and come back Thursday the 20th. Each day I am there I have scheduled interviews except for the 20th. I am nervous because even though I have been through the interview process before, this is for a potential career opportunity. Hopefully I am able to impress the representative from the different companies and come back to SNC with confidence that I will have a job ready and waiting for me when I graduate! Wish me luck!

I will update when I return from DC and let you know how the interviews went! Have a great spring break and be safe!!

Jess

Last spring I had the amazing opportunity to go to Washington D.C. and be part of the Washington Semester Program through The American University. As part of the Washington Semester program students were to choose an area which was most related to their major or one that interested them the most. I was part of the Journalism program. Throughout the 16 weeks in D.C most students took classes three days a week and had an internship two days a week.

Before I got to D.C. I was able to search an internship data base with hundreds of different internships available. At first it was a bit overwhelming because I had no idea where to start. Once I started searching I was able to narrow down my choices to what interested me the most.

While I was searching I came across the internship of my dreams. It was for Washington Sports and Entertainment working for the NBA's Washington Wizards. I am a sports fanatic so it had always been by dream to work for a professional sports team. I applied for the internship thinking I wasn't going to get it. A few weeks later I got a call from the Human Resources Director and she asked if I could come in for an interview but I told her I wasn't going to be in town until the first week in January. She said we could do a preliminary interview over the phone. I thought the interview went really well and was excited to finally meet her in person.

When I arrived in D.C. I took the Metro to the Verizon Center where the Wizards play their home games and met with the Human Resources Director. As she was talking to me she was speaking in a tone that implied I had already landed the internship before she formally asked me if I would take it. (I just want to let everyone know I applied for other internships as well and got offered positions at others too). I ended up taking an internship with the Washington Wizards in the Sales Department. It was one of the best choices I have ever made!

For the most part my duties included compiling many of their mass mailings to clients in the D.C. metro area including schools and churches and other recreation departments. I also put together databases of prospective clients, assisted in daily tasks within the department and volunteered in the other departments when I was needed.

I have two highlights I would like to share with you. The first highlight is when I got to interview the President of the Wizards, Susan O'Malley. For my journalism seminar class I had to do a profile on a person I admired or someone whose job I would like to have someday. I chose to interview Susan O'Malley. I went to my internship one Thursday and I had in my mind that I wanted to interview her for my profile piece but I thought she would never have time to sit down with one of the interns and let them ask her questions about her life, but she did!

Susan is the first woman to become President of an NBA franchise as well as a multi-facited sports and entertainment company. She was so down to earth and the interview turned out to be so much more than I ever could have imagined! She is my idol, I hope to be the second woman to become a president of an NBA franchise!

The second highlight I would like to share is when I was able to shadow the Communications department, specifically the public relations for a week during one of the Wizards home games. During that week I was able to attend one of the Wizards practices and watch when they would speak to the media after practice. During this time is when I got to meet many of the players! The home game that I was able to be with the PR department was against the Orlando Magic. I was able to go in the press room and set things up for the reporters who were covering the game, I was also able to go into the locker room before and after the game and meet the coaches and see how the media conducts their pre-game and post game interviews with the head coach and players.

Those are just a couple of the highlights from my internship with the Washington Wizards. I met incredible people and had experiences that I won't soon forget! Thanks again for reading and I look forward to posting an entry again soon!

Jess

Hey Everyone!

This is my first post. I am very excited about it! I am a senior here at SNC majoring in Communications, with a minor in Sociology.

I cannot believe four years has gone by so quickly. I feel like it was yesterday, that I was a junior in high school coming to St. Norbert for the fist time as a shadow student and now I am a senior and getting ready to step into the career world.

Throughout the past four years I have had many great experiences. I co-founded and started a student organization on campus called "Friends for Wheels" to raise awareness about disabilities throughout the St. Norbert College community and to make sure there is an effort to make every building on campus accessible to not just those of us in wheelchairs but for any other form of limitation one might have.

I will be ordering my cap and gown later this month to walk across the stage in May! I have been searching for jobs like crazy! It has become something that has consumed almost all of my free time, but is well worth it! I am glad I started searching early. I have landed two interviews in Maryland for March when I travel to the DC area over spring break! It has been stressful but the hard work has paid off!

In my next blog I look forward to tell you all about my experience studying at The American University and interning with the NBA's Washington Wizards in the Spring of 2007. A life changing experience I will never forget!