A Personal Blog by Tatevik Kagramanyan
Valerie Allen Public Relations Intern – Spring 2019
Trying something new has always been a very important goal and aspect in my life. Growing up, I was very shy and closed off, it took everything out of me to come out of my shell and try anything remotely out of my comfort zone. At a very young age I started working full time and was homeschooled all throughout high school. This started teaching me to learn on my own, and grasp the idea of not being able to stay in my bubble. As years went on, I became more curious on the different fields out there and ended up dabbling in a bunch of different industries. I turned into a person who wanted to learn and know everything about different industries. I became a person who wants to try everything that challenges me, to see where i fit in perfectly.
Being a Business Management major at CSUN, i was required to take an internship to graduate with my bachelors degree. A close friend of mine had just started working at a PR firm, and she raved about how much she loved it. I had no idea what PR even meant, but i was very curious and wanted to see what is was all about. I got offered an internship at Valerie Allen PR, to work alongside Senior Publicists and get hands on experience in the industry, and see what a day-to-day life of a Publicist is like. My first day, I was so confused and had to google what PR even meant. Every job and experience i have went through thus far has not been anything close to what PR is. I was used to being on my feet, talking to customers and clients, and managing day-to-day activities and employees. My honest experience was that I had no expectation of what it would be like, given no experience or knowledge of the industry prior to this. In the beginning it was very hard for me to imagine sitting for half the day and being on the computer with little to no contact with people. As time went on, I learned that what this industry and work consists of is all the tedious researching and email sending which books the clients and makes the firm successful. I come from a very business mindset, so having this experience allows me to understand that hard, tedious work is what gives the success to this industry. Seeing how hard everyone works here, and the dedication and passion they all have to the firm and to their clients is truly inspiring, and makes me want to continue searching and learning to see what I would love just as much.
Being an intern at Valerie Allen PR, was definitely an experience that I learned a lot from. Wanting to challenge myself, and continuously grow and learn as a person, I can confidently say that this firm allowed me to see first hand and learn what this industry is all about. They make you feel included in all their work, and take you onto shows and interviews for you to be able to see how everything happens from sending pitches, to booking clients. Im very grateful to the firm and employees for the opportunity and patience of teaching and inspiring me.