About the Author:

Laura Contrucci is a senior studying visual communication design at Kent State University. Over the course of this summer, Laura will also be the Design Intern at Elevate Thinking in Columbus, OH. She shares her work and experience in her online portfolio at LauraContrucci.com.

Hi! My name is Laura Contrucci and you may find me familiar because I have blogged previously on GenYJourney about my senior year and semester abroad. Now I’m here to blog about my summer internship. Throughout the summer and internship, I would like to share my experiences to give others an idea of what it’s like to be an intern.

My major, visual communication design, requires an internship for graduation. Last summer I interned on campus at the Alumni Association. However, I’ve always hoped to find one in Columbus, as well. I live about 2 and a half hours from Columbus which is the perfect distance. It’s still close enough to go home on the weekends but far enough to allow me to explore a new place and be on my own.  I’m from a small city and I would most likely need to look for a job in a larger city anyways.

So after searching, applying and interviewing at various places this past spring, I found my internship! This summer I am ELEVATEthinking’s design intern. ELEVATEthinking is a brand design and marketing agency in the Arena District in Columbus. As design intern, I’ll be working on design projects as well as production and various office duties. This will give me a taste of what it’s really like to work at an agency.

I feel so lucky to have this opportunity because I know how hard it can be to find an internship.  I’m looking forward seeing to what it’s really like in the ‘real world’ and life after college.  And by working at Elevate I get to see how graphic design interacts with marketing, advertising, social media and more. I’m coming in ready to work hard and learn.