This summer has been filled with so many challenges and opportunities. In the end, the opportunities and ending result far outweighed any challenge that was faced. Here are a few of the highlights from this summer here at Germinder + Associates.
On my return, I was excited to see all the new opportunities I’d be able to take on due to everything I got to do last year. With the “Interviews with Zinaejah” series, I got to speak with so many awesome Black professionals and with the Inez Y. Kaiser Initiative being one of the main focuses for this summer, I was excited to see what I could accomplish next.
Lea-Ann and I decided to enter my “Interviews with Zinaejah” series into the 2021 PRSA-NY Big Apple Awards. Upon entry, I was just happy to learn how to enter into an award and everything that comes with it. It was a process, but it allowed me to see the ins and outs of getting something submitted.
Getting started on creating content, I was excited to use my creativity to create the new “Z Blogs” idea where I linked the story of Inez Y. Kaiser to my own story and made a blog out of it. I ended with six blogs which were all very successful. My final blog featured an interview with Richlynn Kaiser Bailey, granddaughter of Inez Y. Kaiser. It was such an honor to get to speak with her and hear the amazing stories and advice that she learned from a legend.
In the midst of creating my blogs, I also did some work with our Good News For Pets site. As an affiliate partner of Chewy, lots of posts centered around the many summer deals they showcased. I was ecstatic to see the Chewy official account on social media respond and thank me for promoting their products. It was such a cool experience and has even become a bragging right of mine whenever I mention to family and friends what it is I do at my internship.
One of the most rewarding parts of this summer was creating content for the Greater Kansas City Public Relations Society of America (GKC-PRSA) social media pages. After emailing the entire advisory board about my project, I was able to get quotes for each of them that symbolized the importance of the scholarship and any meaningful words they wanted to say about Inez Y. Kaiser. The final project was beautiful and it was so rewarding knowing that I was able to give each member a voice.
Along with the project, I created a video to help promote the scholarship. After advice from board member, Darius Lane, I was able to come up with something amazing and even got compliments on the video! I was so proud of my final product and couldn’t have asked for a better coach.
Nearing the end of my internship, I received word back from the PRSA-NY Big Apple Awards entry that I submitted earlier in the summer. To my surprise, I was informed that my entry was shortlisted as a nominee for an award or an honorable mention! I was in shock and so excited all at the same time. Lea-Ann and I planned our trip to New York in September for the in-person awards to celebrate the accomplishment.
Overall, this summer has taught me so much. It taught me that some of the most rewarding experiences are what you can do for other people, hence what I did with the GKC-PRSA social media content and my Z blogs where I helped tell the story of the late Inez Y. Kaiser. I also learned that hard work pays off, even if it’s months or a year later. Here I am, a year after I completed the “Interview with Zinaejah” series and now I get to go to New York City, a place I’ve always wanted to go since I’m a nominee. On top of that, after a long and challenging summer, I was able to complete two PowerPoints on Germinder + Associates and Good News For Pets to add to my portfolio. Everything is paying off and this experience makes me even more excited for what the future holds for me.
