Internship Experience 

by Jessica Phillips

My name is Jessica Phillips and I am a professional writing intern for Mental Health America of Licking County.  I was given the opportunity to take this internship as a part of my degree program’s coursework.  Throughout the semester we met once a week with our peers, who were also part of the internship program, to discuss what was happening at each internship site.  We also completed various assignments which helped us learn what skills we will need going out into the professional world.  As a final assignment we were asked to write a note to the “future generation” as they enter into the professional world themselves.  Being an intern was my first step, and here was my advice:

“You may not get an internship or job with the exact job description that you are hoping for, but that is the beauty of it.  Be excited about the new path, scared about the unknown, and praise the challenges that got you where you are.  Working with MHALC has taught me a lot about the professional world and how to navigate through the challenges and be flexible.  So my advice is to plan, plan, and plan again.  Always have your dream plan in mind, but keep changing it because life will end up doing it for you anyways.  Be flexible, be scared, and most of all be you.” 

Allowing yourself to be scared or afraid is so important to me.  I believe that overcoming the things that give us fear is what will give us the confidence to do better and do more.  Working with MHALC has been such a rewarding and inspiring experience; every single person in their office is so passionate about their work that it has become contagious.  I am very thankful for my time spent with MHALC and their wonderful staff and especially thankful for time spent with my mentor, Jill Goddard.  

Jessica Phillips was an intern from The Ohio State University Newark Campus