SUMMER INTERNSHIP FINAL PAPER

Summer Internship Final Paper

Corey Langerveld
Azusa Pacific University
Communication Internship

SUMMER INTERNSHIP FINAL PAPER

Summer Internship Final Paper
Over the course of this past summer, I had the privilege and opportunity to work in the
Sports Information Department at Azusa Pacific University. This department is responsible for
the media coverage of Azusa Pacific Athletics. They work closely with all varsity sports at APU
in order to provide exposure to not only the APU community, but beyond as well. The Sports
Information Department not only produces original content, but it also gives access to outside
sources seeking to interact with APU athletics. My internship provided me with unique

experiences, as I was apart of various projects that went on in the office. Throughout the summer
I had tasks such as conducting research, importing various types of information into the new
Athletics website, interacting with coaches and athletes within the athletic department, as well as
having the opportunity to write and publish stories for the Athletics website. Though I had
different expectations going into the internship that were different from the reality, the internship
was enjoyable and challenging. I will cover the climate of the office that I worked in, as well as
discuss some of the course material that I have learned in my Communication Studies courses
and how I was able to either identify them or integrate them into my internship directly.
Climate
As I discussed in my journal entry from earlier in the semester, the office that I worked in
had a comfortable and inviting feel to it. I worked alongside Joe Reinsch and Stephen Hinkel,
who work together as the Sports Information Department at APU. Joe and Stephen are constantly
communicating with one another, discussing their work, ideas, sports, politics, and anything else
that comes up in the flow of conversation. It is because of their relationship that the office takes
on a casual, yet efficient, environment. There were days in which the conversations would take
on a more relaxed tone, while other days there was fewer conversations. The climate depended

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on what needed to get done and when. If it was a day that was relatively slow in work,
specifically in May and June, the climate was one of a much more laid-back feel. However, as
the summer moved into July, the office became more focused and quiet, as we all had specifics
tasks with deadlines that we needed to get done in order to move on to the next set of jobs. This
was because of the website launch that is scheduled for mid-August. In the first few months, we
were able to accomplish tasks that were essentially busy work, rather than jobs that required
focus, therefore we were able to have many conversations regarding different subjects as we
chipped away at our responsibilities.
I was able to contribute effectively in both of these climates, as I could very quickly
assess the type of day or week that was ahead. On days where we had more time to talk, I would
be prepared to have a few topics for conversation, as Joe and Stephen enjoyed discussing new
ideas and fresh topics. On the days that had a much more focused vibe, I intentionally remained
quiet unless I had a question that would directly relate to the task at hand. I am a person who
never wants to be a disturbance or annoyance, so it was important to me to understand the kind
of day that each one was in the office, as I wanted to be as effective as possible each day, so that
I could make the needed contributions to the office that was desired from me. Though I felt that I
consistently met and exceeded expectations, I do feel that there were a few times in which I think
I would handle them differently in retrospect.
There were multiple days earlier on in the summer in which the tasks I were given were
simple yet time consuming. On a few of these days I would get caught up in conversation and
fall behind on my work. Though I would eventually catch up, it cost me a few days here and
there when I could have been finished and moved on to the next project. As I reflected on this, I
realize that there are many times in my life where I feel like I may be doing tasks that serve no

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purpose other than taking my time. I have a very hard time being motivated, and while others
just rush to get them done, I tend to take way longer than needed. This is an area that I will need
to work on, as there are times in life where busy work is a reality, and the best way to deal with it
is to get it done and progress on to the next thing.
In my first journal entry, as well as a little bit in this paper so far, I have touched on the
level of communication that I had with my supervisors. Though I was an intern, I was treated as
much more. There was a high level of trust and respect that they showed me, as they both felt I
was capable of managing myself, as well as mature enough to ask for help when it was needed. It
was because of this that I had open communication with them at all times. If I needed
clarification on something, they were more than happy to provide me all that I needed.
Something that I found was unique from my experience in comparison to other interns at
different sites was that my supervisors were constantly seeking my opinions and criticisms.
Nearly anytime that a decision was being made in the office, I was included in the conversation,
and my opinion held the same weight as both my supervisors. If I disagreed with the way
something was being done, I was more than welcome to explain why I felt the way I did and
offer any suggestions I deemed necessary. Once my internship was finished, and I began to
prepare for this paper, I began to evaluate why I was given the opportunity to give my opinion
and criticisms and why my supervisors took them seriously.
One of the main reasons I believe that they were taken seriously is because I constantly
welcomed criticism from them for myself. When they disagreed with how I did something, I
would welcome their input and make changes based off of their suggestions. Therefore, I think
that since I showed this maturity, they felt that there was a level of respect among all three of us
and that I should be included in the decision making process.

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As I move forward from this internship, I think it is important for me to take the basic
understanding that each office I will work in will be different from others, and while there are
things that I can bring to any office I am in, I need to be ready evaluate how I can best fit into a
new office and fall into the ways they do things that lead them to be successful. I also need to be
mindful of putting myself in a position, whether right away or over time, depending on the
climate of the office, that can help bring change to the areas of the office that are not succeeding
in the ways they are capable of.
Integration of Knowledge
The main tasks that I had this summer were to re-format schedules and rosters for the
new website, a research project on NCAA Division II football attendance for teams across the
country, and the writing and publishing of various stories for the athletics website.
The re-formatting of schedules and rosters were rather time consuming and repetitive. I
had to go through all 19 varsity sports that APU offers and put each schedule and roster since
1998 into a Microsoft Excel document. This took all of May and a few weeks into June to
complete. It was frustrating because it felt so repetitive that it was hard not to feel bored and tired
while doing it. However, once I completed that project, it felt great to have put in so much time
in order to finish a major task that Joe and Stephen would otherwise have to worry about.
The second project I was given was that I had to go through the football attendance for
every Division II school for the past four years. This project was intended to provide the athletic
department with information about how they could get more people to attend home football
games at APU. While this project took a long time, it was very interesting, as I learned a lot
about Division II schools across the country that I would have never else heard of. Once I
collected the information for all of the schools, I had to go through and figure out which ones

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had the most in common with APU, so that the athletic department could look into the ways in
which they obtained high numbers of attendance. With APU being located in a large metropolitan
area like Los Angeles, as well as being in close proximity to large, Division I schools like USC
and UCLA, I had to find similar characteristics amongst other schools. To do this, I looked up
the largest metropolitan area in the closest proximity to each school, as well as the the two
closest Division I football programs. This was the most frustrating part of the project because
there were countless schools who were located amongst multiple metropolitan areas and Division
I schools and I was constantly having to research and then check to make sure that I was
providing the most accurate information possible for the athletic department.
The final project that I was given was certainly my favorite. I had the opportunity to write
various stories on different sports that were then published for the public to view on the APU
athletics website. This was cool to me because my work was being put out under the APU name
and a lot of people were able to read my stories and obtain new information from them. I enjoyed
the entire process of these stories, which began with looking for a topic, conducting research,
writing a rough draft, editing the draft until it was ready for publication, and then finally
publishing to the website. The most stressful part of this process was conducting the research, as
it was vital that the information I obtained and included in my stories were accurate, as these
stories were written about APU athletes, and to have them falsely represented would be a huge
issue.
I can take something from each of these projects into my future career. The first project
serves as a reminder that even though the work can be boring and time consuming, it needs to get
done, and there will come a time in my future career where I will feel the same way about a task,
yet it will be important for me to be able to complete the task as best and fast as possible. From

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the other projects, I learned the importance of conducting research in a way that provides me
with accurate and credible research, so that the information I share with others is truthful and
reliable.
As I discussed in my journal entry, I was able to apply concepts and materials from Small
Communication with Dr. Courtney Davis and Dr. Ryan Hartwig, as well as Research Methods
with Dr. Jim Willis. In my journal entry, I talked about how groupthink was something that I was
able to apply to my communication with my supervisors. When we were making decisions about
various aspects of the new website layout, we had to be careful of getting too caught up on one
idea and not giving any other ideas any consideration. One of my supervisors was great at
playing the devils advocate. He could identify the times in which we seemed to run with an idea
to the point in which we were not giving reasonable thought to other ideas that were just as good
if not better. As I reflected on these interactions I was able to recall the many discussions that Dr.
Hartwig led with our class about the importance of avoiding groupthink and using a devils
advocate. I also mentioned in the journal about how Research Methods had helped me evaluate
my sources in the research I conducted. Through my recollection of Dr. Willis presentations I
was able to discern the legitimacy of sources, so that I would avoid providing unreliable and
false information.
My coursework has certainly been useful and was adequate for this internship.
Communication is important in all aspects of life, and being able to come into an office with an
understanding of various theories, along with the ability to recognize the characteristics of good
and bad communication, is extremely beneficial and useful. It is because of our extensive
understanding of communication and our ability to understand even the finest of details that I
believe communication studies students are in a place to truly succeed in the professional world.

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Working at APU provided me with the opportunity to be open about my faith, as it is a

Christian community. However, because of this reality I do not get to see how my faith would be
impacted in a secular environment, and how my faith would interact with my job. While I know
of many Christians in the secular work force, I have not had the opportunity to truly observe
them and learn more about the relation of faith and profession. Something I did learn from my
supervisors regarding faith is that Christians should interact with others differently. Our
department is in constant interaction with other athletic departments, media outlets, and other
people. In our interactions with these people we should serve as a reflection of what it means to
be a Christ-follower. I was able to observe Joe and Stephen demonstrate patience, servant-hood,
kindness and honesty in their interactions with others. I learned that as a Christian these are the
kinds of characteristics that should constantly be present in my conversations, both
professionally and privately.
This summer served as a great learning experience for me. It was my first time being in
an office and apart of the daily routine. I was able to observe the climate of the office, and how it
transformed and shifted on a daily basis. I was also able to incorporate various aspects of my
course work into the internship, using it as a tool for effective communication with my
supervisors, a tool for greater efficiency in my work, as well as a tool for helping the office
operate even better than it had before. I enjoyed having the opportunity to write and publish
stories to the website, as it gave me tangible evidence of the work I had put in over the summer.
While some of the projects lacked enjoyment, they still held value in my development. I think
that this internship is a great opportunity for someone who is interested in the details of an
athletic department. I was able to see many new things that help an athletic department operate,
as it gave me an appreciation for all the work that goes on behind the scenes. Overall, this

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summer served as an excellent opportunity for me to put into practice the things I have been
learning about communication, it also provided me with my first opportunity to work in a
professional setting. I am grateful for my two supervisors who allowed me to have a larger role
than most interns would have and my hope is that I was a productive member of their office for
the summer.