INTERNING IN THE UNKNOWN: WHAT IT’S LIKE TO INTERN DURING A PANDEMIC
By Zach Hull, Marketing & Communications Intern, Publicis Health
As a self-proclaimed pop culture connoisseur, I’ve always been interested in all aspects of entertainment—from pop music to the Kardashian Empire to young adult literature, I love it all. My passion for entertainment led me to pursue Entertainment and Communications studies in college and eventually helped me land an internship in 2019 at PAPER Magazine, where I explored my passions for celebrity culture and entertainment through an editorial lens. Although my interests were vast, working in the entertainment industry was where I wanted to be.
The COVID-19 global pandemic began a week after my first interview for a summer internship at Penguin Random House. As a book-nerd, I was very excited about the opportunity because it aligned with my interests in communications and literature. I came to the interview fully prepared, decked out in a shiny new suit I had just bought with my own money (my first professional purchase). Although I did everything to enhance my chances, the abrupt impact of COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the company’s summer internship program, a fate that befell many programs in the summer of 2020.
With no internship prospects on the horizon, combined with living at home in my desolate farm-town in Southern New York, I was crushed. Boredom has always been my worst enemy and with nothing on my schedule, I catapulted down a rabbit hole of headlines highlighting the disastrous effects of COVID-19. In a chaotic dash to find a gig for the summer, I discovered an internship at Lina, a company committed to uplifting and supporting private practitioners in healthcare. Although health was never something I envisioned myself delving into, I felt I could make a small contribution to the industry during a clearly dire time.
I joined Lina remotely as a Marketing intern, and worked extensively on helping kickstart a newsletter campaign targeted toward its database of private practitioners. Although my role was small, and virtual, I felt like I was making a contribution with a broader reach than any position I had held before. When my internship ended, armed with a new interest in healthcare, I started searching for opportunities within health. I craved that feeling of purpose and contribution that the healthcare industry ignited in me.
As I wrap up my first week as the Marketing Communications intern at Publicis Health, I catch myself revisiting many feelings from this past year. It’s been overwhelming to learn so much about the corporate setting for the first time, and doing so in a virtual space is quite strange. During the internship kick-off meeting with Publicis Health CEO Alexandra von Plato, we asked for her advice, and she encouraged us to be curious, to strive and work hard, and to gather as many experiences and contacts as we could during our short time as interns. Alex’s advice was inspiring and she validated the discomfort and confusion that the virtual setting can impose on interns. Although virtually interning is a strange experience that many of us are still getting used to, I’ve learned that leaning into the discomfort of it all, and learning from that sensation, is the best way to forge ahead.
COVID-19 halted our reality and forced us to reconsider what is truly important to ourselves. Internships have allowed rising professionals, like myself, to feel like we’re making a difference and helping pave the road towards a new future. It’s been an exhausting but also exhilarating first week, and I’m excited about what’s ahead during my internship. In such an unprecedented and tumultuous time, there is no better feeling than Interning with Purpose.
