Click the post title above to view the full journal entry!

How have your classroom experiences prepared you for the internship? What do you wish you had learned prior to the internship?

My classroom experiences have done a fairly good job of preparing me for my internship. I have learned good communication skills in English, and other basic core subject knowledge is also important.

However, there are also a variety of skills that I had no classroom exposure to that have been integral to my success. These are skills I have learned from my extracurricular activities.

For example, for my work with Barnabas Multimedia, I needed to know the basics of stage lighting and audio production for live events. I never learned this in any of my classes, but I did volunteer at several Millbrook High School theatrical productions, and worked in these capacities at my church, so I am able to succeed at the tasks assigned to me during my internship.

Another example is my work with Source7 Marketing, where I create web graphics and advertisements. I learned a little about this in my Digital Media and Multimedia Webpage Design classes, but I only really delved deep in to the skills needed for these tasks in launching my own company in the digital marketing space.

Therefore I would argue that while it is important to gain a foundation through traditional classroom education, most skills are best learned through extracurricular application.

Until next time!
— Thomas Armstrong