Recently, I had the opportunity to spotlight my fellow blog writer, Eric Hitch, for the Full360 blog. Eric is a Media and Communication major here at Delaware Valley University, and will be graduating Spring of 2022! He is a self-proclaimed sports fan and it was his love of sports that drove him to select Media and Communication, seeing it as the path to be able to work in the sports industry. “We’ll see where time takes us, but that’s the dream.”
He is currently interning at the Doylestown Township building, which is conveniently close to Delaware Valley’s campus! It’s one of the things that Eric likes about it – “it’s easy to get from internship, to class, to internship, to class,” he noted during our interview. Eric has been working with the special projects coordinator at the township to write the summer newsletter! It gets mailed out to all registered addresses in the Doylestown area. Additionally, Eric got to work with the social media team for the township to create and organize the social posts, advertisements, and events for the area.
Going into the internship, Eric wasn’t sure how it would tie to his major or his career goals. It didn’t give him much exposure directly with what he’d like to do with sports, but he believes it was still a valuable experience. “It did give me a little bit of experience with programs such as Indesign. That’s a program I never used before. That’s an Adobe program that really utilizes newsletters, magazines, print advertisements or anything like that. Which nowadays isn’t really the popular way of getting our media and information, but it’s still utilized and overall I think using new programs has opened my eyes to different programs that companies use.” Eric also got his first experience of working in an office environment, and has developed a new respect for those who can work the 9 to 5 lifestyle. It was also his first time working with people older than him, and seeing what they value in social media information was an interesting experience for him.
When asked what his biggest takeaway from the experience was, Eric admitted something that I think many people struggle with.
“I’ve always been someone who’s been very scared to ask for help when it comes to independent projects, I’ve always been the kind of person who likes to do everything on my own,” he said.
When he ran into a problem with one of the first social media projects at the township, it was his site advisor there that supported him and encouraged him to ask for help, even when it’s a solo project. Knowing that he can rely on other people even on a social media team for second opinions and help, even if it’s something he’s supposed to do on his own, is going to help him out in the future. “You can always ask for second opinions, you can always ask if ‘this makes sense’,” even when it seems like you’re the only one writing the social media posts.
Eric is a transfer student from Bucks County Community College, and one of the things that drew him to DelVal was actually the Experience360 Program experience! “DelVal’s whole memo is getting yourself out there!” says Eric. He spent his first semester here at DelVal just getting his feet on the ground and making the adjustment from a two-year college to a four-year university. It was this semester when he really started to try and get the internship. Eric wanted to get the chance to have hands-on experience in his degree, and it was via Professor Katie Carnevale that he was able to find the internship program. He said the whole experience of finding it, getting in contact with the township, and getting the interview all happened in about a week!
Looking to the future, Eric is glad he was able to get experience with working with people who are older than him, and to get the perspective of what other generations are looking for, what they like and dislike, and value in social media posts. Between that and the Indesign program, he feels the experience has given him a head start for his future career. “That won’t be the last time I see that program,” he said.
Eric has some advice for students who haven’t gotten to start E360 yet – transfer or not – “Talk to your professors! They want what’s best for you.” Reach out to your professors, and do some digging online – whether it’s sports or writing or teaching – do some online searches and talk to your local schools and businesses to make yourself known and available. Don’t be waiting for the opportunities to come to you, go get them! Eric and I both believe that sentiment: good thing those of us who haven’t finished our E360 credits have the Full360 blog to help us along the way!
Written by: Maggie Driscoll