Jordan Sweat’s goal has always been to live and work in New York City. The MSU senior got the chance to test out that dream this past summer with an internship at Weber Shandwick.
“It was my dream internship. If I could have picked any PR agency, I would have picked them,” said Sweat, who is majoring in Communication with a minor in Public Relations.
Sweat was an intern in the technology practice group at Weber Shandwick, where she worked on accounts for a number of clients, including Amazon.
“I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do consumer PR or corporate PR, and being in the technology practice group, I got experience in both,” Sweat said.
Even though she was far from her hometown of Lake Orion, Mich., Sweat felt right at home in New York.
“I met a lot of great people out there, and my mom and sister and really good family friends came and visited,” she said.
Now that she’s back at Michigan State for her senior year, Sweat is working as a student strategist for Piper and Gold, a Lansing-based public relations agency.
She originally applied for the position as a freshman, but didn’t have enough experience. So, she made sure to stay in touch with Piper and Gold and reapplied last year.
As a student strategist, Sweat dabbles in a little bit of everything at the company, including working with clients, writing and helping with one client’s rebranding campaign. She even got the opportunity to attend a conference with the Central Michigan Public Relations Society of America.
“It was cool being able to go with the team,” she said, adding that she was able to attend a seminar by Michael Smart, a public relations expert whose work she had studied in class. She said she feels studying communication and public relations has given her a balanced education.
“The Communication major is very research-based, where the PR minor is actually writing news releases and reading this case study,” she said. “And a lot of the professors I’ve had worked in the industry and they’re able to prepare students in a very realistic sense.”
Sweat’s numerous work experiences also helped to prepare her for her most recent internships. Before interning with Weber Shandwick, Sweat interned for local companies like Foster Swift Collins, Downtown Lansing Inc. and WSYM Fox 47.
“I’m really thankful for my first three internships. They weren’t in agencies, but they taught me a lot of the skills that I need,” she said. “I can literally see myself with each internship getting closer and closer to what I want to do.”
Another thing Sweat has appreciated about her time at MSU has been the opportunity for travel. She’s studied abroad in addition to participating in the Advertising + Public Relations trip to Chicago.
“I never really expected to get that out of being in college,” she said. “Those extra things have helped me out so much.”
By Kelsey Block, Journalism and Arts and Humanities double major
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