By Lauren Ruiz, Intern
Much of the PR profession is motivated by one theme: storytelling. And because of my passion for storytelling, I decided to step foot in the professional world of PR.
As a minority who currently studies at a predominately white university, I occasionally feel disconnected from everyone else. Sometimes, it can be hard relating to the other students in my class. Luckily, I found that sharing stories with peers helps me relate to them. It creates a sense of belongingness. Even though we all have some differences, storytelling is the bridge that connects us all.
One day, as I was scrolling on LinkedIn searching for new internships to further my professional PR career, I happened to notice an application listing for interns and immediately knew I had to apply. Interning at The Hoffman Agency was too good to pass up, especially since it is an agency renowned for his PR professionals (Hello, tech agency of the year!). What makes the agency even more attractive to me is that it is full of other fellow University of Oregon Ducks!
If I were to use one word to describe what it feels like entering the professional PR world, it would be “exciting.” The Hoffman Agency is full of exhilarating opportunities that can enhance your knowledge and overall understanding of storytelling. Of course, I do get the occasional nervous butterflies, but that’s OK. I always told myself that for me to grow as an individual, I have to put myself in unfamiliar situations.
Excitement is a good feeling, it’s what gets me up in the morning and pushes me to keep learning. Being an intern, a lot of your world is about learning … and more learning … and more. That is what is so exciting about being an intern, there is so much room for growth.
The Hoffman Agency offers an intern so many opportunities to learn; I am so lucky. There’s not a single day that goes by where I don’t learn something new. Whether it’s learning how to draft a strong pitch or navigating college classes while interning, there’s plenty of learning opportunities.
I hope to get many things out of this internship, including industry exposure/experience, a better application of PR knowledge on real-life problems, and strengthening my communication skills. I look forward to advancing my PR skills as well as actively participating in a role that aligns with my career goals. I am so excited for this incredible journey of learning about the tech industry through a PR lens!
P.S. A fun-fact about me is that I am obsessed with thrifting. I could spend hours and hours at Goodwill. My friends and I tend to go at least once a weekend. We like to spend our Saturday mornings at the thrift store. It’s a great bonding experience for us, and we usually all score with some super cool thrift finds!
