Meet Noah, Our Summer Intern

My name is Noah Kelley. I just finished my senior year at Southeastern University and will be graduating this fall with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. I am truly blessed to have attended such an amazing, Christian university for the entirety of my college career. The professors, students, and mentors have all taught me valuable life lessons that I will cherish forever. Most importantly, these individuals have helped me reach a level of confidence that has equipped me to prayerfully focus on this next part of my journey.

As I have already gained proficiency in crafting news releases and in other areas of PR writing through my communications courses, I will be well equipped to accomplish these tasks for McLeod Communications. When I first viewed the internship assessment document, I noticed that your firm offers hands-on communications work with live clients. This completely transformed my outlook on internships because I was not under the impression that I would be starting official PR work immediately. I have only had one experience similar to this with my public relations campaign class, which was taught by Professor Sheila Guzman. Our entire class was able to participate in a live pitch of a public relations campaign. Our client, TJ Zimmerman, founder and co-owner of Lakeland’s Concord Coffee, was so kind in working with all of us. He broke down what it would look like to advertise, brand, manage, and budget a business and what that would specifically entail.

Not only is writing one of my strong suits, but it is also what I live for. Whether I’m writing poetry, creative stories, or formal documents, I enjoy every aspect. No matter the genre, I can always put my own unique twist on a piece. I believe that a writer should be proud of any form of work that they have created, because it is a reflection of the effort that is put in.

Music is also one of my passions. I have been playing the piano for about 12 years. The process of writing song lyrics and allowing ideas to flow is something that I have always admired. My parents were the ones who encouraged me to take piano lessons. I am part of a family of six. I have a younger brother and two little sisters, who were both adopted from China. In 2014, we were all given the blessing to go on a trip to Nanchang, China to adopt my youngest sister. It was amazing to be immersed in this unique culture on the other side of the globe for a few weeks! Another change in culture and climate came for the family last year when we decided to leave the snowy state of Vermont and move to Florida. You’d think that going from one environmental extreme to the other would take a while to get used to, but since it has always been a tradition to visit Florida annually, it didn’t take long for us to adapt.

Tasks that I will be given, such as: writing copy, developing social media content, conducting background research for clients, monitoring news and relevant issues, maintaining media databases, drafting PR documents, and assisting in presentation development will provide me with opportunities to network in ways that I never have before. I am humbled to play a role in the rebranding of the company’s new podcast. I appreciate being assigned to impactful projects such as these because it makes me feel as though I’ll be an asset to the organization. The two of you have also showed me that my opinions would be of great value to this organization. I look forward to offering suggestions where necessary and pitching ideas about how we might be able to improve in certain areas. This is exactly what an internship should look like. I am thrilled to be a part of McLeod Communications.