At the start of the year, I had just moved to Auckland, armed with an English degree, dreams of being a writer, and a vague interest in getting into Public Relations. I was a little lost.

After hearing about Intelligent Ink – “an awesome agency with a focus on good writing” – from a friend in PR, I sent out an email about potential work, or even just some advice about how to get into the industry. Christina, our wonderful Director, replied almost right away, friendly and supportive from the get-go, and invited me in for a chat.

While meeting with Christina and Verity – my soon-to-be supervisor and trusted guide ­– they expressed their plans to start an internship programme. This was perfect for me, having just enrolled at AUT to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Communications and Public Relations. I was fortunate enough to be chosen as their very first intern, and, before long, welcomed on board as an Inker.

I could not imagine a better introduction to copywriting and PR; everyone on the team went above and beyond to be welcoming, helpful and generally awesome. The internship was structured in a way that gently guided me into the world of Intelligent Ink; I started out doing copywriting, which was more in my wheelhouse, and refining those skills, before progressing into the unfamiliar world of PR.

Overall, it was a great process. I never felt uncomfortable, and everyone made sure I had a degree of familiarity with what I was doing. I don’t know what I’d have done when doing my first pitches without Sarah (my fellow ENFP!) sitting with me, walking me through what to say, and cheering me on as I made the calls (while I’ve come to enjoy it now, let me tell you: calling journalists can be scary!).

This is but one example of the many ways everyone on the team enabled me to develop and grow, while giving support and feedback throughout. I always knew what I’d done well, and how I could improve in the future.

A big thing for me was seeing how each task I was doing fit into the overall processes and framework of Intelligent Ink, and it was fantastic that I got an understanding of how things worked as parts of that whole. As I learned, I got to follow something through from its inception to completion (say, researching and writing for a client’s magazine one week, turning that story into a press release the next, and then finally pitching it to the media).

This was characteristic of my internship; it was driven by what I wanted to learn, experience and achieve. Verity always made sure what I was working on enabled me to achieve these goals, for which I’m indescribably grateful.

In my opinion, doing an internship, especially in an industry as hands-on as copywriting and public relations, is essential. While I’ve found my course at AUT very interesting and rewarding, and certainly enriched what I was doing at Intelligent Ink, academia does not always prepare you for the real world.

While I was learning about impersonal concepts like publics, two-way symmetrical communication and the Excellence theory in class, Sarah told me early on, “As long as you’re good with people and can write a press release, you’ll do well in public relations”. While she and I both know, in reality, there’s a lot more to it than that, insights like this into what was ultimately important and practical really helped me get my head around PR. When it comes to something that’s all about people, relationships and communication, this makes so much more sense to me than abstract academic concepts. This is exactly why my internship has been so invaluable.

At the end of a meeting recently, a client recently asked us, “Would you rather be feared or loved?” Christina immediately answered, “Loved.” I think this perfectly encapsulates the environment and ethos of Intelligent Ink; everyone is passionate, competent and doing superlative work, while never losing sight of the people involved, and the good we can do in the world. I’ve seen this approach to clients, and I’ve experienced it first-hand throughout my internship.

I’d like to sincerely thank everyone who I worked closely with throughout my internship. Obviously, from what I’ve already said, Verity, Christina and Sarah have been such huge influences and mentors, as have Jenny, who always knows what to say and exactly how to say it, and Marieke, the PR badassness of whom I’d love to have even half of one day. You’re all such wonderful, inspiring and brilliant people, and I feel so lucky that each of you were part of this experience.

I am sad my internship is coming to a close, but as all we Inkers know, with any good story, the end is just another beginning…