Internship Diary by Carly Lawson, IU Bloomington Student

May 11–May 20, 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana

In my first two weeks of working at Junior Achievement (JA), I quickly understood the phrase “each employee wears many hats in a nonprofit organization.” I spent the first day meeting the staff, finding out where everything is, and organizing my desk and work.

I spent time creating a database for a program called JAzz Works that JA and Indiana University are working together to create. From this database, I sent out letters and surveys to get information about area jazz programs.

Throughout the next two weeks, I created a PowerPoint presentation to be used to educate the JA BizCamp campers on philanthropy. I also designed the JA BizCamp T-shirt and tested a computer game they were going to use during camp. [Editor’s Note: JA BizCamp is a series of week-long camps that teach schoolchildren about marketing and advertising, e-commerce, personal finance, insurance, think tanks, business etiquette, and more.]

I had a meeting with the president of JA and a man from KPMG LLP to discuss an awards event called Indy’s Best and Brightest, which will be held in September. I was also told that I would be planning every aspect of a networking event for the finalists from last year’s awards event. I worked with the manager of a local Noble Roman’s and sent letters out to finalists inviting them to the dinner. I sent out a press release about JAzz Works and also a letter (from the vice president of course) to the Junior Achievement Board of Directors, personally inviting them to the 2005 FedEx Exchange City Lemans Auction and Dinner. [Editor’s Note: The Exchange City Program is a mock city where fifth-grade students put their classroom learning to work as they make real-world decisions and learn about leadership and teamwork. Students act as employees at stores, judges who preside over local cases, and citizens who spend their paychecks in shops. Students also learn basic math, economics, technology, social studies, and reading and writing concepts.]

JA was also working with AXA Financial Advisors and racecar driver Jon Groom for a breakfast and wine tasting. I sent out the invitations for the wine tasting.  

May 23–June 1, 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana

On Monday morning, I walked into the office to find a small cocker spaniel puppy there to greet me. My job for the day was to help out with Lemans by watching the puppy and working on a database with the auction information. We intended to auction off the puppy as a fundraiser. I then attended the dinner and auction while showing off the puppy. She raised $950 for JA!

I also worked on the JAzz Works T-shirt designs and worked on BizCamp things like putting together crafts and creating and sending a mass e-mail about camp. Since Lemans was over, I worked on Best and Brightest and sent out a letter to the 2004 winners and finalists. [Editor’s Note: Junior Achievement of Central Indiana, Inc. and KPMG LLP will recognize young professionals ages 40 and younger at the Marriott in downtown Indianapolis with an award luncheon on September 29, 2005 called Best and Brightest.] We met with the Indianapolis Star to design a mailer explaining Best and Brightest.

For the AXA breakfast and wine tasting events, I made a sales call to speak with the general manager of the Porsche dealer in Indianapolis. The AXA breakfast was a free breakfast for race car enthusiasts with special guest race car driver Jon Groom. AXA paid to cater the breakfast, and told us that all the proceeds from the wine tasting that night would go to JA. AXA is a group of financial advisors, and apparently they get their wine from an AXA vineyard. The event was successful, but JA spent a lot of time sending out the 10,000 postcards for the event and e-mails for the breakfast. I took all the RSVPs for the breakfast and spoke a lot with a woman from AXA who was in charge of the breakfast.

I also called the owner of Everybody’s Oil to try to get donations or sponsorships for the AXA events. I began creating an Indy Auto Dealers Special where we would deliver pizzas and subs to auto dealers on Saturday mornings. I also sent out a thank you letter for Lemans to the companies that were involved. I researched information about box lunches for the Emmis Lunch on the Circle in August that Noble Roman’s and Tuscano’s Subs will be catering.

June 6–17, 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana

I sent out the invitations to the networking event I would be hosting for the 2004 Best and Brightest finalists. I worked more on JAzz Works by sending out a press release, creating a flyer spotlighting jazz musician, Slide Hampton, and created and sent out a mass e-mail for JAzz Works.

JAzz Works is actually a program where JA teamed up with Indiana University to bring "jazz and business together." We had jazz master Slide Hampton come in for a jam session with area students, and the public was invited. It allows for students to sit in with professionals. We are continuing it this year—it’s in the works. We didn't charge money for the last sessions, but we are looking into ways we can charge to make money this year.

On June 17, we hosted the JAzz Works Jam Session with Slide Hampton. For summer camp, I worked with camp registration and organized camp T-shirts and daily newsletters. For Best and Brightest, I started calling individuals to try to get new nominations. For my Indy Auto Dealer’s Program, I compiled a database of all the dealers in our delivery area, created an order form, and delivery agreement and went to get the final copies of the special printed.

I started visiting the area dealerships with a cheese pizza and doing sales calls to give them the information about the special. For the Emmis Lunch on the Circle, which is August 5, I created three coupons for Junior Achievement and ordered the boxes for the lunches. One coupon had a discount for a room rental at JA, one saved money on pizza and subs, and one promoted birthday parties at JA.

The Emmis Lunch on the Circle goes along with the Allstate Brickyard 400. Allstate will be there passing out race mementos like lanyards, ponchos, and flags to go on cars. They will also have representatives from Hank FM (97.1) there passing out posters and shirts and playing music. JA provides 500 lunches for this event on the circle in exchange for airtime on the radio since it's so expensive. There will be another lunch on the circle in August, but I won't be there to help. 

June 20–July 1, 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana

Because many people could not attend the networking event, I was forced to cancel. I worked on every aspect of canceling an event. I had to call KPMG LLP and let them know we didn’t need a speaker, cancel the food I ordered, and created a letter letting people know the event was canceled.

I continued working on summer camp registration and organizing summer camp shirts. I printed the labels that would go on the boxes for the lunch on the circle. I continued to make sales calls to the area auto dealers for the special. I started making appointments to meet with trade organizations to explain Indy’s Best and Brightest and to try to get new nominees. I continued to make follow up phone calls for Best and Brightest. I also designed a Bowl-A-Thon brochure for this year’s 2005−2006 Bowl-A-Thons.

July 5–July 15
Indianapolis, Indiana

During these two weeks, I made sales calls for Best and Brightest to the Indianapolis Better Business Bureau, National Association of Social Workers, the Indiana Manufacturers Association, and the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association.

I continued to make follow-up calls for Best and Brightest and to set meetings with the presidents of the trade associations. I continued to work with summer camp by registering campers and organizing the T-shirts. I worked on Bowl-A-Thon by finishing the brochure and creating a poster.

In my spare time, I also did some filing for the accounting department and research. I also started covering at the receptionist desk for an hour each day.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana

This internship at Junior Achievement of Central Indiana (JA) will help me in marketing and management because I've had the opportunity to use my marketing skills. I have been asked to design brochures, posters, coupons, and an entire program, where I had to create a menu, order form, contract, and go on sales calls to promote the program. I have also seen different styles of management and supervision. I have found which ones work for me as an individual, and which ones do not.

I hope the internship gives me the opportunity to experience things I may not have tried myself. I also hope to learn more about daily business in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors. I also hope to improve my communication skills by being put into new situations.

So far, I have learned how to be flexible in my position. I have learned to take a simpleidea and turn it into a working, successfulprogram. I have also learned how to make sales calls for different events. I now know different ways to approach different people when asking for sponsorships for an event. I have also learned how to plan a business function. Unfortunately, I have also learned how to fail at a project. BUT, from learning how to fail, I also learned how to work even harder to try to prove myself. The lessons I have learned, good and bad, will help me to be a better employee in the future by learning from successes and failures.

The day Ienjoyed the most was when I was asked to spend the day with one of the auction items for a fundraising event. For our Leman's Event, we have an auction in the evening. The vice president of JA decided it would be a good idea to auction off a puppy. We bought the puppy from a breeder, and she was auctioned off at$950 for JA. The puppy actually went to the Aletto family of Carmel.Gary Aletto is a big contributor to JA.Aletto City (one of the Exchange City Simulations) is actually named after them.So, we knew the puppy was going to a good home.

I spent the day working at my desk, with the puppy sleeping at my feet. During the evening, I had the chance to walk around with the puppy and meet many guests at the event.

July 18–July 29, 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana

I continued to make sales calls for Indy’s Best and Brightest and met with the Human Resource Association of Central Indiana, the Honor Society of Nursing, the Insurance Institute of Indiana, the Indianapolis Medical Society, and the Indianapolis District Dental Society.

I wrote an e-mail and made follow-up calls to the board regarding nominations for Best and Brightest. I made a packet of sponsorship information to send to the board regarding Best and Brightest. I also had to make the call to change a mailer that was going out to four surrounding cities about Best and Brightest. I worked on the speech for the luncheon.

I continued to do my tasks for summer camp, including registration, runs to the store for needed items, and organizing the T-shirts and folders for camp. I also sent out an e-mail reminder to the auto dealers about the special.

I started researching information about Indianapolis and the surrounding areas for a grant for the 100 Best Communities for Young People. We held a Fox Family Fun Fair and also catered a neighborhood’s National Night Out, for which I created a coupon and newsletter. [Editor’s Note: The 22nd Annual National Night Out is a crime/drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. The 2005 event was August 2. In 2004, more than 10,000 communities in the United States and Canada participated. The goal is to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; generate support for local anticrime programs;

strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.]

August 1–August 12, 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana

In my last two weeks, I wrote an e-mail to the board and worked on calling the board members to get their contributions for 2005-2006. I looked up hotel information and made reservations for an event in September. I continued to cover at the receptionist desk during lunch time.

For Indy’s Best and Brightest, we went downtown to the Marriott Hotel and for a tasting. We had two salads, two entrees, and two desserts to choose from for our luncheon on September 29. The food was amazing! I also got a few more sponsorships for Best and Brightest after sending out mailings and making phone calls.

I created a new program similar to the Auto Dealers special but for apartments in our delivery area. I created a letter with coupons for the apartment’s newsletters, created a punch card, a buffet menu, and individual meals for the employees in the office to order lunch. I was able to visit two different apartment communities and they were happy with the program.

We had a meeting about JAzz Works to get things rolling for this coming year. We went downtown for the Emmis Lunch on the Circle, which I created coupons for. I also compiled a notebook of the board members and their contributions to JA for the year. At the end of the week, I put together the Hall of Fame books, and did research for Hall of Fame.

For my last day, many of the people in the office went out to lunch together. We enjoyed popsicles in the break room, and then I went over everything I had done with my supervisor.