Landing the perfect summer internship is a dream of many college students looking to further their professional experience. Claudia Airey, the Summer Communications Intern at NIPSCO, landed just that. Her internship is helping her develop the skills she needs to improve not only her professional life, but her personal life as well.
Airey will soon begin her Senior year at Indiana University Northwest where she is majoring in Communications and pursuing a minor in English. Airey is highly involved in her school, taking part in many clubs and organizations to truly make the most of her time there.
“At school I am a tutor in the writing center, a media coordinator for student government, board member for student activities, a member of the National Society of Leadership & Success, and a new student orientation leader,” said Airey. “I wanted to not only make my learning experience and college experience great, but I wanted to help others to have that same opportunity.”
Involvement is an integral part of Airey’s life, which means chasing opportunities as they become available. Airey discovered the NIPSCO Summer Communication Internship online and knew she wanted to pursue it immediately. She completed the application process and found herself beginning her internship and working with a team who constantly supported her.
“I was really looking forward to working with the team that I had met at my interviews. I knew off the bat that this was going to be a good thing because I had already done so much research on my teammates and I knew I’d be learning a lot,” said Airey.
The internship allows Airey to participate in many different events and activities, rounding out her skills that she’ll utilize in the future. She currently writes and drafts social media posts, as well as helps at different events.
“I get to write Nisource articles, I get to plan events, I’ve gone to different substations to take pictures, do interviews, and write about it. I’ve been doing social media and there are a lot of different projects that I have the opportunity to do, which keeps it really interesting,” said Airey.
This opportunity affords Airey the chance to develop her professional skills and writing. She also feels the internship has helped her grow in other ways, rounding out her personal life.
“It’s given me a lot of hands on opportunities to improve my professional writing, and to interact with a lot of people. I know that I could see myself here after graduation. It’s a team I enjoy working with. I feel I’ll be a much more well-rounded person and professional after this experience,” said Airey.
Airey also noted how the internship and classroom instruction have complimented each other, and will continue to do so as she heads into her final year of school.
“The creative and intensive writing that my coursework has required has been coming in handy with this. Writing became second nature, but this internship has helped my writing skills, so once fall starts I’ll feel even more prepared for my writing classes,” said Airey. “They’ve given me a lot of opportunities to be creative and to see how my writing could be perceived by others.”
Airey is grateful for the opportunity she has received through NIPSCO and looks forward to utilizing her new skills in the future.