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This blog is written by Hillary, our Campus Ambassador at Virginia Tech. She is studying Communications, with a concentration in PR, and will graduate in May 2013. Currently, she is a digital media intern for Modea.

1. Don’t be too hard on yourself- You’re an intern, not the president of the company you’re interning for. If you misunderstand something or don’t feel qualified, don’t be too hard on yourself. See the entire experience as a learning opportunity, and grow from it.

2. Manage your time wisely- If you’re interning while going to school simultaneously, I highly suggest learning to manage your time wisely. Getting your school work done early, and not procrastinating, will help make your internship that much more enjoyable. Who wants to stress out about studying for an exam while at the office anyway?

3. Ask questions- Don’t be afraid to ask questions (yes, even if you think they’re dumb). As stereotypical as it sounds, someone probably has the same question too.

4. Utilize your resources- Your office may provide learning materials or programs accessible to you. Find out about these opportunities early on, and take advantage of them. It will show your employer that you are willing to learn and, in return, you will gain knowledge you wouldn’t have had otherwise.

5. It’s okay to make mistakes- Interning is about learning and gaining experience-plain and simple. Therefore, the most important lesson I learned from my internship experiences was to learn from my mistakes.

This is a guest blog post from Queen, a former Communications Intern for Scholastic, Inc.

If you’re a college student, you probably know that nothing is trending more than #internships. There simply is no shortage of companies willing to take on young, ambitious employees for a few months, especially if their willing to work for free. But while it’s fairly easy to work your way into an internship, sometimes it’s hard to depart.

As a communication major following the journalism tract, I participated in a series of news reporting internships. Whether they were short term like my 4-day experience with the Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors (PSNE) or long term like my internship with the Philadelphia Daily News, each was a significant learning experience and a stepping stone toward my future career.

This summer I was selected to participate in a paid internship with Scholastic Inc., in its corporate communication department along with an amazing scholarship honor from the New York Women in Communication Foundation.

After participating in several internships, I adopted the practice of sending goodbye notes to my colleagues at the end of the term. The mock press release I sent around the Philadelphia Daily News office, garnered tons of laughs and gratitude. My parting words are still mentioned and remembered by the staff to this day. Similarly, I sent a farewell e-mail to my coworkers at Scholastic and it was also well-received.

I’d advise students participating in internships to do the same. We’re all struggling college students, so you may not have the money to send fruit flowers or some elaborate bouquet; but our final words can leave a lasting impression. Here’s what I wrote to my co-workers at Scholastic:

So today is my last day. Rather than bore you with a long reflection of my experiences here at Scholastic…wait, this is a long reflection of my experiences at Scholastic! Anyway, try to enjoy it. It’s the only way I know how to say goodbye and thank you; I’m a writer for Pete’s sake!

5 things I do now that I didn’t do before working for Scholastic:

Drink coffee: I have been a tea lover my whole life but my eyes have to be open to keep up with all the Scholastic tweets! So now I’m a big fan of Dean & Deluca (which totally redefined my definition of coffee) but the free coffee on the 6^th floor does just fine on my broke days!

All things Blog: I think I’d blogged twice in my life before coming here. Now I’ve started my own blog on Tumblr (boring as it may be for starters) and I subscribe to over 30 education/literacy/politic blogs; because, as a mother, nothing could be more important than knowing the latest about my daughter’s future education.

Tweet Peep: I was forced to create a Twitter account after participating in my last internship with PSNE, but honestly, once it was over, I hadn’t sent out a single tweet. Well, in the process of reading so many interesting blogs, I found that there are simply too many cool things going on that warrant a tweet! Still abysmal in numbers compared to others, but since I’ve been at Scholastic, I’m nearing 200 tweets!

Organize my social media: Now that I’ve subscribed to so many blogs and I’m tweeting regularly, I have to keep up with them all. Thanks to key pointers learned during Social Media University (shout-out to Morgan Baden & Ivy Li) I have a TweetDeck and Google Reader to manage it all. Life is sooo much easier with a dashboard!

A Reading State of Mind: I read a lot before coming here but mostly assigned readings for my undergrad college courses. Now I read about one book per week. Because you just can’t work at Scholastic and not be an avid reader and because the train rides in New York are so long you could easily read a book per day on your commute. Besides, working here I found so many new, amazing titles to choose from, including YA titles that I never thought I would read (that is until I read the Hunger Games trilogy and loved it!).Working here revived the kid in me, the one who stayed up all night long reading a Stephen King book when I was 12. Only Scholastic could take me back there.

This was much more than an internship for me; much more than just assignments to finish for a grade. This experienced changed who I am, forever. I’m more in touch with the world through social media and reading and that makes me a more informed mother, student and journalist; I’ve learned much of what it means to be a publicist thanks to help from Sara, Yanique, and the very much missed Amanda; I am one with Meltwater, for better or for worse, thanks to Meaghan and Lia; I’m kinda…sorta, a blogger, thanks to Morgan; and most importantly, I am on a permanent mission to Read Everyday, Lead a Better Life.

P.S. (Special shout-out to the HR department who put up with all of my Philly/NY drama, and put the “Human” in HR. You are amazing and I appreciate everything you did for me.

Thank you.

This a blog by Danielle G., our Campus Ambassador from the University of Connecticut. Danielle is a Communications major with a concentration in Sociology. She will graduate in May.

Being an intern can put you in a bind sometimes as to when and where your next meal or snack will be coming from. Typically one just ends up grabbing whatever they can snag. However, if we want to be the best and give our employers the best of us, then we have to treat out bodies with respect. That begins with making good food and drink choices when out and about.

Coffee is a staple usually in an interns or students world. The problem is I always see students forget that beverages are part of our everyday diet and we should still make smart choices when choosing our morning pick me up.

Coffee is actually a very good item to include in your diet.  Studies show that coffee can help ward off mental decline, Parkinsons Disease, certain cancers, high blood pressure, and even extra pounds. Coffee also has a ton of antioxidants that help keep your skin glowing and radiant. But I am talking about regular black coffee, the giants coffee milkshakes some places offer will cancel out any of these benefits and replace it with mass amounts of sugar, fat, and unwanted calories. Today I will offer you some great choices when you step into that Coffee shop and have no time to even think about the health benefits of your cup of Joe. I will compile a list from one of the most prevelant coffee shops in the US and abroad: Starbucks.

Regular Coffee: Plain old coffee only has 5 calories, YUP 5 Calories in one cup! Just be careful when you add cream and sugar. One packet of sugar has about 10 calories but add cream and maybe some artificial flavor and your coffee could come in at under 100 calories per small cup. This is not bad by any means for a flavored cup of coffee, but if your dumping sugar into it and ordering a large you may get more than you bargained for. Instead of sugar try just the flavored syrup alone or try something like Truvia, a natural sweetener with 0 calories.

Latte: Starbucks has a great Vanilla Latte that if you order it Skinny, they use nonfat milk and sugar free vanilla syrup to make. This drink in a Tall (aka small) is only 90 calories and what I love about it is it is a great way to get dairy and calcium into your diet in the morning. This is good for people who don’t like milk and have a hard time getting calcium into their daily meals.

Frappuccino: Now if you have to have a milkshake like drink because its just one of those days, that’s fine. One every once in a while wont hurt you. But try and do the same thing with the Latte and order it Light. A tall Caramel Frappuccino Light only has 100 calories. Sure it’s a small but you will probably find that the small is just what you wanted anyways.

Iced Coffee: If you want something Iced, regular coffee is always a great bet, but if you’re looking for something fancier go with a flavored Ice Latte Skinny Style and it will only come in at about 60 calories and again you have the extra calcium in there.

Starbucks always has their nutritional information on hand in brochures near the sugar caddy and milk station. These are great to pick up and read to pass by time if there is a long line. There are plenty of good options to make, you just have to make the effort to inform yourself. Once you do it will come easy for you to make snap judgments when having to decide on anything that can effect your health. Remember if your healthy, your body is happy, you are happy, and well that makes a happy employer.

This a blog by Danielle G., our Campus Ambassador from the University of Connecticut. Danielle is a Communications major with a concentration in Sociology. She will graduate in May.

When someone asks you to describe yourself you tend to make a list of all the amazing facts and qualities you possess. Maybe you’re very artistic or are a whiz at all computer programs. Maybe you are quick on your feet when put on the spot or are able to strike a conversation with anyone. Whatever qualities you posses are exactly what you want everyone to know, including future employers.

Now ask yourself to describe you. Do you only list out the positive attributes or do you identify your weaknesses as well. Most people, especially ambitious college students, try and ignore their weaknesses. They pump up their great attributes so much that they tend to forget they even have weaknesses and while this is good for your confidence, it could actually be your downfall in the future.

College is a time to explore and find your own identity. This is the time to make mistakes and try again. This is the time to focus on your weaknesses, not your strengths because when you are put into the career world there is less wiggle room to work on your own identity.

For example, I myself am a strong public speaker. I have no problem getting up in front of a large crowd and speaking as if I am the President of the United States. Now throw me in a one on one casual conversation with someone I never met before and I panic. I think, “How can I make them like me?” “I shouldn’t act like myself because they wont like the real me right off the bat.” “I need to think of topics to say otherwise they will think I’m boring.”

I recognized this flaw early on in college when first time interactions were at a peak. I knew if I was to get the job of my dreams I would have to interview well and be able to hold a casual conversation. I knew when I did get that dream job I couldn’t take months to warm up to people in the office. I needed them to respect and know who I was within weeks. I identified the problem and from their sought the solution.

My solution for me was to put myself in as many first time interactions through programs that I could. I applied for anything and everything when it came to internships and campus ambassador programs, just so I could talk to as many people one on one for the first time as I could. Just recently I attended a conference for a new position I have with Verizon, where I was to meet for the first time 30 other campus ambassadors. On the plane there I told myself over and over, be an extrovert, act like yourself, don’t be shy. When I finished the conference I walked away feeling confident and with a group of new friends. The conference took me away from my familiar setting of Uconn and threw me into a brand new place with brand new faces. It was just what I needed to confirm that my fear of interpersonal communication was beginning to fade and all the uncomfortable situations I put myself through were entirely worth it.

Here is the lesson you should take away: Take the time in college to identify your weaknesses and try to make them as close to a strength as you can. Do not ignore the flaws but embrace them and make them better. Seek out solutions to help yourself get over those faults, so when you do get into an interview or are part of a company, you can show them all the strengths that give you the utmost confidence in yourself.