Abbi Boose, a communication major with a concentration in public relations at George Mason, is interning at LeapFrog Solutions. She has accepted the challenges of her internship and knows that the opportunity will lead her to success. The College of Humanities and Social Sciences recently caught up with Boose. Here’s what she had to say:
CHSS: Please explain your internship:
Boose: Currently, I am interning for LeapFrog Solutions (LFS), which is a marketing firm located in Oakton, Virginia. The location of the office is ideal for a Mason student such as myself, as it is only a 15-minute drive from campus.
CHSS: What are you doing?
Boose: As an intern, I am responsible for basic office maintenance duties as well as interacting and assisting with any client-related task. In the office, I am mainly responsible for greeting each client as they come in for meetings, making sure that they receive a wonderful first impression as they come to meet with difference account managers. I am also responsible for keeping our database of contacts up to date and accurate, as this serves as a vital tool for networking with potential and current clients.
While these are important tasks, my main duties with LeapFrog Solutions come with client interaction. As an intern, I assist with numerous proposals, editing them and making sure that they cast LFS in the best light possible. I also prepare and complete award submissions so that LFS may be recognized for the outstanding work they produce for their clients. I am also often called upon to help with research, both on and for our clients. At that time, I research various topics including potential competition, ways in which our clients can receive more exposure through participation at events and any other topic that I receive. Through the completion of these tasks, I am given the feeling that I am a vital member of the LFS team and their success.
CHSS: Who are you interacting with?
Boose: On a daily basis, I am able to interact with everyone in the office, something that I both enjoy and value. It is a wonderful thing to be able to speak freely with the founder as well as the president of the company you work for. Everyone in the office has always been so accommodating, especially when it came to passing on tasks for me to do so that I may continue to learn as much as possible. I was also given the opportunity to attend many weekly internal meetings. This not only allowed for me to become familiar with my co-workers, but to also learn more about our clients and how we are working for them.
I am also able to interact with our clients. As mentioned earlier, my position in the office allows me to meet everyone who comes in, but I have also been given the opportunity to go out of the office to different events. Through this, I am able to interact directly with our clients. Through these interactions, I am able to work on my networking as well as interpersonal communication skills.
CHSS: What are some of the experiences you've had that have inspired you?
Boose: I was given the opportunity to attend an off-site meeting with one of our clients to work on a marketing and communication plan for them. The meeting involved meeting the clients and their associates and then leading a discussion focused on targeting their values as well as strengths in terms of communication. At this meeting, I was able to observe what it takes to command a large audience, and lead a lengthy discussion, and ways to keep their attention. I was inspired at this meeting when I was asked for feedback and when provided, I was applauded for my thoughts. This inspired me because I felt as though my chosen career path is the right one for me.
Another experience that I had that inspired me was when I was assigned to completely research and develop search engine optimizations for the LeapFrog Solutions website. This task required me to go to each page of the LFS website and highlight key words and phrases that described that page. I then created a list of those words which were incorporated into the website’s internal dialogue that would increase the likelihood of our website being reached by various search engines. I was inspired when I saw the title tags (the wording at the top of each page) that I created in use on the website.
Finally, I aspire to work in either the marketing/PR field or the events management field. I was given the opportunity to attend the Greater Washington Sports Alliance’s annual Sneaker Ball in D.C. Attending this event was humbling and inspiring at the same time to me. It was humbling because I had only been interning for LFS for about two weeks, and already they had enough faith in me to allow me to attend a high-profile event. There, I was introduced to current and potential clients and had a chance to meet Chris Cooley of the Washington Redskins. It was inspiring because I have an interest in event management, and to attend such a fabulous event and see for myself some of the work that goes into executing such an event (we were seated nearby a production table) was both interesting and educational.
CHSS: Overall, what have you gotten out of your internship?
Boose: Being at LeapFrog Solutions has helped me to learn how to communicate in a professional setting as well as develop my networking abilities that will aid me in the future.
I am able to learn first hand what it takes to own and run your own company, something that I aspire to do one day.
Everyone at LeapFrog Solutions is wonderful, and their open nature has shown me what it takes to foster and create a productive work place.
January 20, 2010
