Devon Hohney interned with the Critical Languages Program, gaining hands-on experience in managing and growing the program’s social media presence, designing promotional materials, and supporting outreach through event promotion and attendance.
How did you get your internship?
After spending several weeks applying for internships, I finally got mine after finding it on Handshake. The process of searching for an internship that was suitable for me and fit with my schedule was not easy, and it took a lot of persistence. Since my emphasis area is in business administration, I was looking for something that related to that and also something I could complete during the school year. So I applied for my internship on Handshake and I heard back about a month later over email and we scheduled a zoom interview. The interview process was pretty simple as we talked about what the general expectations were, and what I was looking for in an internship. After that call, I heard back over email a few hours later, and found out that I got the position!
Why did you choose this internship?
I chose this internship because it was a hybrid on-campus marketing internship, which were all things that interested me. I thought it would be very interesting to work in a marketing environment because I had little experience in the field. I also liked the fact that it would be hybrid, which was the best fit for my academic schedule, as it allowed me to have time for all my activities and responsibilities. Lastly, I chose this internship because I wanted to help market the Critical Languages Program and potentially help more people find out about it. It is such an interesting program that not nearly enough people know about and getting to introduce more students and faculty members to it was an extremely fulfilling experience.
What kind of work did you do throughout your internship experience?
Throughout the internship, we had the opportunity to work on several different projects. Because we were marketing the Critical Languages Program (CLP) here at Arizona, we worked with students, language tutors, our supervisor, and other CLP staff. We participated in campus events such as the Language Fair and Admitted Students Day. We also interviewed the language tutors and some of their students, managed the social media accounts, and created promotional materials. These were all things that I had little to no experience with prior to beginning my internship, which made it a very interesting and exciting experience!
What skills did you develop in this internship?
Some of the new knowledge and transferable skills that I have grown and developed throughout the course of this internship are collaboration and teamwork, communication, time management, strategic thinking, and creativity. While I possessed some of these skills prior to beginning the internship, I was still able to grow them quite a bit. Communication and collaboration were vital parts of this internship as a lot of it relied on communicating via email with other staff. My time management skills were strengthened due to the fact that I had to complete work by certain deadlines and keep everything very organized. Overall, these were some of the many skills I was able to strengthen and learn throughout this internship.
What did you find most challenging about your internship and how did you overcome it?
One of the most challenging aspects of my internship was time management and learning how to complete all my tasks in a timely manner. Time management was tough for me because I was already busy with school and other commitments, so there were times when staying on top of my work became super challenging. I learned that it is normal to be overwhelmed, but it is important to come up with solutions in order to avoid being stuck in a prolonged state of stress. I managed by creating schedules of certain tasks that needed to be completed each week, and not giving myself too much to do at once, in order to avoid burnout. Creating weekly schedules and to-do lists ended up being a very useful tool for me, and helped me finish out my internship strong and successfully.
How did your Applied Humanities major coursework help prepare you for the internship experience?
My Applied Humanities major coursework helped me in a number of ways as it provided me with a strong foundation in communication skills and strategic thinking. Both of these skills have been a vital part in my experience as an intern, so it was very helpful to have an applied humanities background. I also feel as though PAH major classes like Intercultural Competence gave me a strong background in communicating appropriately and successfully with those from different cultures. This was particularly important due to the fact that I spent lots of time communicating with language tutors who came from different backgrounds and cultures than me.
What advice do you have for other students as they search for their internship?
My biggest piece of advice for other students is to be open-minded as you search for an internship. It is important to have a general idea of what interests you for an internship, but it is also important to give certain opportunities a chance, because they may surprise you! Ask lots of questions during interviews, as these will help you to decide whether the internship is right for you. Scrolling on LinkedIn or Handshake can feel overwhelming, so it can also be very beneficial to talk to your network. The people in your network may know about certain opportunities or openings that are not being advertised, or they can help by simply providing valuable advice.