Busy Busy Busy

These last two weeks have been a blur.  I am not sure where to begin with what I have been doing this week, so I suppose I will start with vacations.  Next week Brendan and Heather will be going on vacation.  I do not think they knew they both took vacations in the same week, but it is definitely something we have been working diligently to offset.  I have been taking on pieces of three different positions in these last few weeks including assisting Kent with Tax-Free Wealth Seminar and Real Estate Investor Association mailings and databases, taking some of the projects off Heather's hands while she is gone, as well as my own work.  I  compiled a mailing list of REIA organizations around the country and sent them four documents that works towards bringing their members to our Networking Conference.  I had to contact some of the organizations that we did not have a mailing address for, and even worked with a man in Canada to help foster a relationship between his organization and ETC.  I also began drafting some of our emails for our drip email campaigns we will be running throughout the month of August in addition to some press releases we will be sending out.  I have worked closely with Heather to gain a better understanding of how she utilizes our Genius email software and to learn how she crafts each piece of writing for the various campaigns we are working on.  It seems that everything has been coming due at one time, so naturally everyone has been working feverishly.  When I told my dad what I have been doing, and the extra work I have picked up, he frankly replied, "welcome to the real world."  It was a blunt assessment of a valuable lesson I have been learning throughout my internship here at Equity Trust.  It does not matter if people get sick or are on vacation, the work still needs to be completed.  It is encouraging to know that, while stressful, I welcome the challenge and do not mind stepping up to the plate.  Another aspect that softens the blow of my increased workload is the wonderful people I work with.  Michelle excitedly scheduled my going away luncheon for today with the entire department.  I truly enjoy spending time with everyone in the department and it is not just words when Equity Trust states one of our core values is we have fun here.  It is always fun and interesting in the office, something that I find important in the workplace.  Although I still have one more week, we wanted to spend time as a team before Heather and Brendan leave on vacation.  I am also pleased to announce that Michelle also scheduled a welcome back party for me as well!  I will be returning in a part-time position during this fall after taking a week and a half to get settled in for school.  I am so excited to have been asked to stay on here, and feel validated.  If I could give an intern some advice it would be to look at your internship as an audition.  There is no doubt that an internship is critical as a learning tool, but one should also look at it as an opportunity to audition for that company.  I have attacked each day with the thought of proving myself, showcasing my skills, and helping ETC in as many ways that I can.  If you look at it more than what I can get out of this, but also as auditioning yourself as a job candidate you increase your chances of finding somewhere to stay.  Once I make it through this next week, it will be nice to take a week of to recharge before school starts.  I will then return to the office with a renewed vigor and will hopefully continue this wonderful experience here at ETC.