When first beginning the search for an internship I often pondered the idea of what I might be
doing. More often than not that consisted of questions such as, will I get coffee for the office?
will I be in charge of just entering in calendar dates?
However, my biggest questions never touched on the actual day-to-day assignments that I have
had the opportunity to be a part of. Sammis & Ochoa has offered me the chance to prove how
capable I am at being put into the real world of PR professionals, one in which there are no
graded assignments. It was nerve wrecking when my first week at the internship I was called to
go assist on a media segment all by myself. I worried and then worried some more about the fact
that I wouldn’t have anyone there to oversee that I was doing a good job, or for that matter doing
it right.
The end reward was worth all of the second guessing, getting the chance to go out and feel like
you’re actually beginning your journey into what will someday be your career as well as gaining
the confidence that you in fact just may succeed is an exciting overwhelming feeling.
All of the hands on experience has far exceeded my expectations of any internship I thought was
out there for an undergrad student. However, it still isn’t the best part of Sammis & Ochoa. The
best part comes from the company itself.
The two cofounders, Mario and Tanya, have provided a workspace that is encouraging to any
ideas, open to all types of discussion and overall an intentional space. Being a person of great
self-doubt I would’ve never imagined I would be throwing out my opinions or suggestions
during my first staff meeting, but that’s exactly what happened. Being an intern it is easy to
assume you are on the outside of the staff, that you aren’t quite as significant and therefore your
voice carries less weight. That couldn’t be further from the truth at Sammis & Ochoa.
You would think that all of that would have to be the best part, but then they go a step further.
The staff as a whole genuinely cares about you and your personal life. In fact, it’s a primary
discussion point at end of month meetings to address your personal highs and lows during the
past few weeks. Then they help you to grow from your lows and recognize how significant the
highs were.
When discussing what I’ve learned thus far from being an intern at Sammis & Ochoa I thought it
would deal a great more with my assigned social media post or all the various meetings I’ve been
able to attend. However, it has grown into so much more than just the basics. I have learned how
to be confident in my ideas and my work as well as how important it is to work at a place that
knows you as more than just the task they have given to you.
-VE
