This past summer I had the amazing opportunity to intern with a group of women that I look up to as advisors, mentors, and now friends. I was the intern to the Director of Downtown Development at the Main Street office in Thomasville, GA. Mrs. Smith and her team plan all the events for Downtown Thomasville and keep all of the merchants informed on the events and happenings in town. Some of their main events are: Victorian Christmas in December, a Rose Show and Festival in April, First Fridays, Wildlife Festivals, Pop It Up Temporary Business Shops, and The Fourth of July Show, which was my main task.  The office also holds the Welcome Center for Thomasville where tourists come in and out every day to learn about all of the attractions Thomasville has to offer. I was thrown right in to take part in a little bit of everything; and boy did I enjoy my time there!

It was a blazing hot June morning when I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to have myself ready in my outfit I had so tediously picked out and pressed the night before. I was determined to arrive before 8:00 a.m. and prepared to greet every tourist that came through those Welcome Center doors.  Little did I know, as soon as I got there I would be stuffed into the supply closet and told to organize every roll of tape and ball point pen in the place.  Thankfully, I can look back on that day with a laugh, a lesson, and an experience to tell my future interns, “I started at the very bottom and now look where I am.” As the days went on I was given more and more responsibility and got to talk to people from all over our country about the amazing shops and restaurants offered in our sweet, little town. I helped create flyers, t-shirts, and programs for The Fourth of July Show and I worked side by side with the social media director on ways to reach more of our community than ever before. 

I could write this piece to tell my peers every detail of my internship but I want to share the most valuable thing I took from the entire experience. If you go in with an open mind and take every tiny job as serious as the final event, sooner or later you will be trusted with the grand finale. I learned so much about every aspect of communication in those two months and know that my career post graduation will benefit greatly because of my time at the Main Street office.