Student Interning Abroad: On FUA-AUF’s PR Team
One of the most unforgettable experiences of my life was the opportunity to study abroad in Florence, Italy. I signed up for the seven-week summer program at Florence University of the Arts - the American University of Florence (FUA-AUF), enrolled in two courses, and joined the FUA-AUF public relations team. Although I was nervous about traveling abroad alone, I knew it was something I had to do. To make the most of my experience abroad and to meet new people before settling in Florence, I enrolled in the pre-week travel course: Cultural Introduction to Italy. I scheduled my flight – Detroit, to Philadelphia, to Rome – and began preparing. Despite my best efforts, I never felt fully ready; it was simply a leap of faith.
I arrived in Rome during the first week of May 2024. Throughout the Cultural Introduction to Italy course, we traveled from Rome throughout Tuscany and ended in Florence, visiting sites such as The Colosseum, Vatican City, and Cinque Terre. After visiting 15 different cities in total, we arrived in Florence where I was ready to begin my other course and to meet FUA-AUF’s PR team.
My Role on FUA-AUF’s PR Team:
FUA-AUF's university structure is designed to encourage collaboration and connection with other students across fields and the local community. During my time with the PR team, I had both individual and group projects that I worked on and also worked in collaboration with students in various departments such as journalism, photography, and special events for presentations and art exhibitions hosted by the university.
I attended events hosted by FUA-AUF such as Made in Florence, a presentation on Artificial Intelligence, and Il Tempo In-Atteso, an opening for an art exhibition. For these events, I wrote press releases and articles regarding the event as a whole and its topic. During the events themselves, I would network with the locals, guest speakers, hosts, and other students at FUA-AUF.
In collaboration with the rest of the PR team, we managed the FUA alumni Instagram page. As a team, we set a template for the social media page, guidelines and responses for an Instagram take-over, and planned posts for the page.
I aided in hosting representatives from universities and providers for FUA. I helped guide the guests around the campus while discussing the history, values, my personal experiences, and forming personal connections with the guests. We would work as a team to write profiles of the visitors prior to the site visit to understand them, their school, and their needs for their university’s study abroad program.
Challenges I Encountered and Overcame:
One of the main challenges I faced was language barriers, specifically the events I attended for the university. Some of the presentations were only delivered in Italian without a translator present. One event in particular was the Made in Florence event which showcased a presentation on Artificial Intelligence. Before the event, I was not sure if there would be a translator for the presentation. Once I had discovered it was only going to be presented in Italian, I worked with the journalism students also in attendance to use translation applications to decipher what was being said. However, these apps continuously cut out and were not entirely reliable. Fortunately, something that greatly helped me was the opportunity to sit down and discuss the topic with the presenters after the event. Although I had difficulty understanding the presentation itself, the personal interview that we participated in helped us to engage with the presenters and learn about their presentations.
My Personal and Professional Growth:
In terms of professional growth, as it was some of my first professional experience, my time abroad taught me multiple lessons about working in the field of public relations. Through my program, I learned how to further develop communication skills, media relations, insight into PR practices, and teamwork. Although I have previous experience in communication skills through my major and club, I had not been in a more professional environment like this before. Through my internship, I was able to further develop my skills in professional communication, team communication, as well as interpersonal communication. It also helped me to gain insight into PR practices in a professional setting.
While traveling, I faced multiple obstacles that challenged my belief in my own abilities such as issues with flights, culture shock, and learning to be heavily self reliant. Despite my setbacks, I found the confidence to stand up for myself, argue for my needs, and find guidance for the rest of my journey. I gained a perspective of the world and myself that wouldn’t have been possible without my opportunity to study abroad. It fostered a new independence where I learned to trust myself, have faith in my knowledge, and to keep calm in stressful situations.
Through stepping outside of my comfort zone and embracing new experiences, I engaged in professional and personal development that will aid my career journey.
About
Margaret is a senior currently working towards a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Business. She studied abroad in Florence, Italy in the summer of 2024 at Florence University of the Arts. She is involved in GV PRSSA, GrandPR, and works in the Padnos International Office to encourage other students to travel abroad. This is Margaret’s first year as an account associate for GrandPR, and she hopes to use her professional experience in either the Travel industry or Entertainment industry of PR after graduation.