Makenzie Plagman

Responsibilities

During my internship, I was responsible for community outreach at Ames Play Yard. This included coordinating social media content to fit guests' wants and business needs. I also communicated directly with guests about their experience and reported back to my supervisor. Other responsibilities of mine included; colaboration with other local businesses, planning events/programs, and developing package options.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment during my internship experience was being offered a full-time management position upon completing my hours. Being offered a permanent position meant my supervisor liked and appreciated the work I did during my internship and wanted me to continue working for her business. It meant a lot to me to be offered this job!

Learning experience

The greatest lesson I learned during my internship experience is that there are multiple paths to success. Every guest speaker we have had in class tells us something similar, but it never fully sank in until I took a completely different path than I had planned, and it turned out to be a great choice for me! Embracing the unknown and keeping an open mind to new experiences were lessons I learned as well. There are no guarantees in business, so I had to learn to take it day by day when there were unknowns and keep an open mind to new ideas, because you never know what will work until you try it!

What advice would you give?

My advice to future HDFS students is to be open to new career paths. Really listen to what guest speakers have to say, because you never know where you might end up for your internship or future career. I ended up in a job I love, but completely opposite of what I had planned, because I was open to different opportunities!