So nice to have a summer job!

I knew with the economy and budget cuts, it would be a challenge to find a summer internship this summer. More specifically - a job back home! In fact, two summer internships - the State Journal-Register and the Department of Agriculture, both had budget cuts that forced them to either not hire as many interns or not hire at all. Therefore, I feel very fortunate to have a summer internship that sounds like I will enjoy very much.

I will be working with the Midwest Dairy Association as their summer intern. For those of you not familiar with the MDA, its main purpose is to promote the dairy industry and its products, as well as educate the public on dairy nutrition. As the summer intern, I will have a variety of duties, including: writing press releases, traveling to staff meetings, helping with publications sent out annually, as well as working the entire Illinois State Fair in the Dairy Building! I will be very close with the butter cow this year, so be sure to come and visit me if you visit the fair this summer.

I am so glad to have had these journalism classes prior to taking this internship, as I have learned a lot about writing and being a journalist. Learning how to research more efficiently, using "tighter" wording and learning how to get the main message across quickly will help me with this internship.

All in all, I am very excited about interning with the MDA. I will have the opportunity to communicate with the MDA interns in Minnesota and Iowa as well, so it should be a great summer!