Moonsail North

I interned with Moonsail North during the summer of 2016 and the four months I spent with #TeamMoonsail flew by. The summer started with a countdown to Kai, Rose and Scott’s ‘human startup’ and Moonsail North’s official brand ambassador (who, at the time, was lovingly referred to as #BabySwanson) and included redecorating the office, an official Moonsail North ribbon cutting, a staff retreat at Think Space and, of course, lots of client work. Prior to interning with Moonsail North, I had no agency experience — I cut my teeth on public relations/affairs in state government — and, thus, I had no idea what to expect. I went into the internship with an open mind and some clear-cut goals: to grow as a professional, get hands-on experience with clients and expand my skill set. I learned more and grew more — both personally and professionally — than I could have ever anticipated. Due to the nature of a startup, I had the privilege of wearing many hats. I got a taste of event planning with our ribbon cutting event with the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, was able to step outside of my comfort zone by giving a comprehensive social media training and presentation, learned how to organize and send out monthly e-newsletters, and was exposed to new website management systems and social media management platforms, in addition to being able to flex my creative muscles with ideas for blog posts, content curation and retreat ideas. The plethora of new experiences and skills have served me well as I transitioned to a full-time position as a PR practitioner. Surprisingly, the job experience was, arguably, not the most important thing I gained while interning with #TeamMoonsail, but rather the relationships I fostered and the life lessons I learned — which have stayed with me long after my internship ended.

The Moonsail North team was able to quickly grasp where we were as an organization, understanding our needs, resources, and capabilities. They did a great job of coaching us to create a clearer brand and helping us to create local awareness through social media, traditional media, and contacts with relevant groups and businesses, which is exactly what we needed.