Of Bikes, Pens and Soccer Balls

September 7, 2012

Internship: an inglorious rite of passage that involves coffee runs, taking out the trash, and sneaking around the office to catch a glimpse of company projects.

Alternate definition: an amazing experience that involves contributing to essential project work, being immersed in the world of effective communication, and working with eloquent bike-riding warriors who wield their mighty pens for environmental and public health justice.

Guess which one applies to Resource Media?

On the first day of my internship, I arrived early and nervously waited in the 12th floor bathroom until nine o’clock. To my surprise, when I finally opened Resource Media’s glass doors, I was bombarded with genuine kindness. I was put to work right away, not on menial office tasks but on interesting projects like writing sample Twitter posts and Change.org petitions. I rolled in intern bliss—the bottom of the ladder doesn’t look so bad when your boss makes daily visits to check in about current projects, questions you might have, or to offer you chocolate.

Not only did I get to go to a Sounders game, kick around a Thai soccer ball during office breaks, and ride my bike to a partner meeting, I also got to witness and participate in the awe-inspiring work of the Resource Media staff. Watching them deftly mix banter and intelligent content in meetings was like watching MJ dunk: so smooth all you’re left thinking is, “that’s how it’s done.” The RM staff patiently and enthusiastically involved me in their work, helping me learn and inspiring me to work hard every day.

I am honestly going to miss work when I go back to college this fall—and that’s not something a lot of nineteen-year-olds can say.

– Avery Haller, 2012 Summer Intern