**By Brooke Tesdall**
**Year in School:** Senior
**Major:** Journalism and Mass Communication
**Internship:** Marketing Intern, Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association
This summer I entered a professional workplace for the first time through my internship at Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association (WCTA). I quickly learned how closely everyone at the company works together; often someone in a different department is vital to the progression of your own projects. Whether I needed additional equipment, a computer upgrade, proofing or permission to move forward, my colleagues were my most valuable resources.
In the marketing department, the never-ending lists of tasks and projects kept us busy while allowing us to prioritize and schedule our time. There was always a more fun mission to look forward to, quick tasks with immediate tangible results and challenging tasks to prepare for.
WCTA gave me the space and material I needed to learn valuable skills from day one. When I started, I didn’t have a working knowledge of Adobe Create Suites program. If I ever had doubts about my ability to produce professional marketing material, they quickly faded. We were encouraged to follow tutorials and look up answers, in addition to asking questions, as frequently and for as long as we needed.
In this environment, I gained the confidence I needed to create proposals for internal company changes and present these ideas to the General Manager. I was bolstered by positive feedback, as well as constructive criticism, throughout the course of my projects. I spearheaded an internal marketing campaign during which I personally constructed and sent out numerous surveys to collect internal data. Analyzing the data and presenting recommendations based on my own research was one of my most satisfying professional experiences to date.
I couldn’t be more grateful for the experience I’ve gained at WCTA. With the array of projects I was given, the work was never boring. We were free and encouraged to be creative within the scope of projects spanning from radio ad scripts, billboards and social media posts to educational videos, direct mailer campaigns and the internal health and wellness campaign.
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### [Vote for this entry in Round 2 of the 2017 Greenlee School Summer Intern Blogging Contest.](https://survey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cYXgeM84xZrltHf)
**Voting begins at noon on Aug. 10 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 17. The winner will be announced Aug. 18 by noon.**