by Brittani Young
Staff writer
Courtesy photo
Evan Wakefield shows his SE pride while posing at his internship job at Aquatica in Orlando, Fla. He works in the guest relations. Wakefield helps customers entering and leaving the park. He is currently taking a summer internship course with Dr. Lacinda Brese-Lebron. He found the job while looking for the internship to take for the class. Wakefield will be working in Florida until August.
Internships are a great way to further people’s knowledge about their career choices.
Many SE students are taking advantage of their summer by working for businesses, not only locally, but also across the U.S.
Dr. Lacinda Brese-Lebron assistant professor and director of forensics, teaches a communication class for internships.
The class requires 120 hours of work along with written reports and job site visits. The jobs are meant to be geared toward the degrees students plan to receive.
Southeastern students are working in cities from New York City to Dallas.
Evan Wakefield, majoring in communication media studies with a focus in public relations and advertising, is working at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla.
He works in the Aquatica water park inside SeaWorld. He will be working at the park until Aug. 11.
He works with guest services and guest relations.
“I love working with such a variety of guests each day,” said Wakefield.
“On average we have about 10,000 guests at Aquatica during the summer,” said Wakefield.
Since he does not live anywhere near Florida, shelter was needed. He lives in a high-rise apartment in Orlando. A company named THS (Temporary Housing Solutions) works with Cumberland Park Apartments to help house students who are working for SeaWorld.
The normal payments for an apartment like his are about $1,200 a month.
SeaWorld sets up students in the apartments with roommates to help pay for the apartment, said Wakefield.
He lives in an apartment with three roommates. Wakefield said, “Living with three strangers was kind of scary at first, but now we are all like brothers. We all work in different areas, so we always have different stories to come home and tell.”
This summer internship is a paid position. “I just love getting paid to be able to interact with the guests at such an amazing place,” said Wakefield.
Along with the job in Florida, he works for an online marketing company named RnD.
“RND is a marketing company that offers services for used and new car dealerships all around the world!” said Wakefield. The company does incentives and rebates.
Wakefield said “I’m in charge of the Search Engine Marketing Campaign for the company which is called PPC Marketing.”
SeaWorld keeps the interns from becoming bored during their time off. They host events such as a movie night and a roller rink gathering.
Taylor Donaldson, Southeastern theatre management major, is currently on an internship in New York City. He is working for Blackbyrd Entertainment, the company is located in Manhattan. They are managing an Off-Broadway show named “Fuerza Bruta.”
Donaldson worked for the national touring production of “The Wizard of Oz.” He met Bryan Byrd, who is the founder and manger of the Blackbyrd Entertainment. “He asked if I would intern for him,” said Donaldson. Of course he could not say no.
The show has been running for five years, but in the little bit of time he has been there so far during the summer he has learned a lot.
“Right now I’m seeing what it takes to rebrand a show and publicize enough to get people interested in your show,” said Donaldson. He has a boss who wants him to learn every part of a show and what it takes to produce one.
The internship connects with the career path he has chosen. Donaldson said, “I’m able to get hands-on experience on things that I’ve learned in the classroom and see what it takes to keep a show popular for such a long period of time.”
Donaldson is gaining experience before he finishes college.
“So, after graduation I’ll be able to use those relationships to help get a job,” said Donaldson.
Wesley Johnson, occupational safety and health major, is interning at HS&E in Dallas, Texas, at Dallas Air Motive.
He is gathering information for job hazard analyses that already exist for the company.
He will be giving a presentation in August about what needs to be changed and omitted from current analysis in the department.
“I like that there is a huge emphasis on safety,” said Johnson.
He said he is learning a lot and getting a great experience.