Summer Internship in London Leads Public Relations Students to Work with Internationally Recognized Companies
As she enters her senior year, Aubrey Steinberg admits to feeling a little nervous about finding a job, but her confidence has increased after moving to a different continent to pursue a summer internship.
Steinberg completed her summer 2024 internship in London and received course credit for it before returning to the Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations to complete her senior year. She is pursuing a bachelor’s in public relations with a minor in business.
As she reflects on the past three years, Steinberg said she always knew she wanted to attend the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
“I’m originally from Atlanta, but I’ve grown up in Tennessee,” she said. “My family had a lake house in Spring City, which is now where I live full-time when I’m not at school. I’ve just always been around UT and love the atmosphere. UT has always been my first choice because Tennessee has always felt like home.”
In addition to her coursework, Steinberg is a member of Alpha Chi Omega Sorority. She found her internship through Absolute Internship, which connects university students and graduates to companies worldwide. Through Absolute, she secured an internship with Instinct PR, a public relations firm based in Vine Hill, London.
During her two-month internship, Steinberg worked with companies such as QVC, Monster Jam, Lillet Rosé Spritz, Hawes & Curtis, and Betty Crocker.
“At first, I was a bit hesitant about working for Monster Jam, but once I started, I found it really enjoyable. It’s a company targeted towards children, and I love kids. I worked on advertising, press releases, and talking to journalists. I also created ‘Top Trump Cards’ with the drivers’ stats, similar to Pokémon cards, to include in PR packages for influencers and their kids. Additionally, I was responsible for designing tickets, sending them out to over 200 influencers, maintaining communication with each influencer, and tracking their posts on Wearisma to ensure they were engaging with the event,” she explained.
Steinberg worked on a variety of projects, including marketing for QVC’s interior design division, along with press releases and graphic design for several other companies. She even got to work with a very popular Netflix show.
“While working with Lillet Rosé Spritz, we did a collab with Emily in Paris for their new season,” she explained.
Steinberg mentioned that the schedule was nonstop, and she worked on multiple projects simultaneously. She typically worked nine hours a day, five days a week. Although there wasn’t much time for exploring the city, Steinberg did get the chance to visit Scotland and Amsterdam once on the weekends. She said the group of interns who were on the same internship cycle as her became close friends.
“Everyone was very nice during the internship. I did learn though that, in this industry, you have to assert yourself to earn respect and form connections. I was not confident at all going into the internship, but now I feel much more confident and have made some friends in the office too,” she said.
One of Steinberg’s final projects was working on an American brand she knew quite well but her colleagues were just being introduced to.
“They were getting Betty Crocker, like the cake mix, just when I was about to leave,” she said with a laugh. “No one over there knew what Betty Crocker was. So it was cool for me to explain what they were and the lore behind it.”
Steinberg explained that, to receive course credit for the internship, she needed to keep a timesheet with her work schedule and daily tasks, update her LinkedIn profile, and write a three-page essay.
She said she wouldn’t have had this experience without the help of Absolute.
“I feel like going abroad for an internship looks good on your resume and being able to communicate and immerse yourself in a different culture, kind of gives you an upper hand in the job search afterward,” she stated.
Summer Internship in London Leads Public Relations Students to Work with Internationally Recognized Companies written by Kristen Gallant and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.