"Becoming Your Best Self": My Experience as an ASR Intern

As a college student, spending the summers at home can be a wonderful yet frustrating experience. 

During the academic year, we are constantly surrounded by people and opportunities that stimulate our minds and propel us forward. There always seems to be a new challenge, a different skill to learn, or another person to meet. When our spring semester ends and we pack up to move home, all those opportunities seem to come to a crashing halt. 

As an aspiring communications student, I have constantly been made aware of the significance that internships will have on my future. It's a phrase I hear almost daily at Penn State: "No internship experience, no job." 

I was determined to find an internship opportunity this summer that would not only give me the experience I need for my resume, but also challenge me creatively, critically, and logically. I wanted to continue to learn, even though I would be far outside the classrooms of Penn State. 

When I interviewed for the marketing intern position at ASR Media over my spring break in early March, I was greeted with open arms and immediately invited to observe a day in the studio filming ASR's Emmy award winning health and lifestyle television series, The Peak TV. 

I timidly sat in the back of the studio, trying to take in everything that was happening around me. While it seemed chaotic, I couldn't help but notice the acute precision of every move that was made in the studio that day. 

Every person had an important role and purpose in the creation of the episode that was being filmed, even the interns that held that job I coveted. After 2 hours of simply watching, I knew this was where I wanted to spend my summer. I was ecstatic when I learned about a month later that I had gotten the position. 

Since my first day at ASR, I have grown so much both personally and professionally. I was taught from the beginning to not be afraid to make executive decisions about my projects, and to accept the constructive criticism that would follow. I am given tasks that matter; I don't do coffee runs or file paperwork. I am contributing to the success of a company that has taught me so much. 

Now I can confidently create a media kit, track analytics on a website, and create graphics or visuals, but the skills I've learned at ASR extend far beyond the ones I can list on my LinkedIn profile. 

This summer I joined a company that is surrounded by organizations who work to improve life in the Lehigh Valley. From United Way of The Greater Lehigh Valley to St. Luke's University Hospital and Health Network to The Lehigh Valley Zoo -- I have seen an abundance of organizations that promote the exact motto of ASR and The Peak TV: "Becoming Your Best Self." 

The people at ASR work to do just that - become their best selves. 

Each day is a chance to excel and move forward. Each new project is an opportunity to reach a higher level of perfection. Each phone call with an interested client is another possibility to learn something new. 

ASR does not develop clients, they develop relationships. They achieve professionalism through personality, a skill I will take with me through the entirety of my future career. 

I am so lucky to have spent my summer with a group of people that have taught me so much more than the clean-cut skills of the communications industry. I am so eager to begin my junior year of college feeling more experienced, confident, knowledgeable, and overall just better. 

My resume is a little more established, but so is my personality. I've learned so many valuable skills, and I've also learned so much about myself. 

The biggest thank you to the staff at ASR for teaching me so much about an industry of endless opportunity, but also teaching me something even more important: to be the best version of myself. 

-Adrea Cope