Four Things I Learned as A Food, Beverage & Consumer Intern

By Ashley Steinberg

Summer jobs have always been a sore subject for me. From greeting tables at a local restaurant, to writing rejection letters and filing insurance claims for an auto financing company, to even a three-week stint at a clothing store, no job kept me stimulated.

This summer, I was determined to find a summer job that I wanted to go to every day. Because of how much fun I had as a member of my school’s very own PRSSA Bateman Competition team working to promote a childhood cancer research nonprofit, I thought I wanted to work in health public relations, and I applied to be a Health NEXTern. I didn’t get the job, but I got something equally exciting: a chance to work with the Food, Beverage & Consumer team at the Padilla NY office.

Now in my ninth week, I cannot believe how fast the summer went by! At Padilla, I met some amazing people, got to experience a lot of cool events, and I learned a ton (and luckily, I didn’t gain one). Here are four things I learned this summer as an FB&C intern that I will take back with me to school:

Food team interns don’t get to eat all day.

FB&C team interns; we’re just like you! Some of my daily tasks include researching top journalists and what they like to write about, pitching our clients’ events to journalists and following up with chefs and restaurants that would be great fits for our clients’ specialty programs.

However, there are some special occurrences where we do get to eat more than the average intern.

One of the most exciting times of my internship at Padilla was recipe testing day. I am lucky to work in the New York office because The Cookery is the perfect place for any culinary event. I got to try some interesting dishes, and it was a unique experience to witness.

Watching TV is better in the studio than on your living room couch.

Another great day I had at Padilla this summer was when I got to watch HealthPrize get interviewed for Nasdaq #Trade Talk live in Times Square. I did some work with my school’s TV station in the past, but I have never been inside a live TV station, and it was awesome. Someone needs to teach me how to talk as quickly as a reporter!

No matter who your client is, your coworkers are who will get you through the day.

I got lucky this summer because my coworkers made it fun to come into work every day. InternFest, Yankee games after work and our summer outing on a boat that provided some beautiful views of the city are just a few of the memories I will look back on.

To everyone at Padilla, I give you a HUGE thank you. This internship helped me decide that public relations is the field for me, and for that, I could not be more grateful.

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