Emily and Lindsey—our friends for life
Nfocus angels
Published On: September 09, 2010
After an exciting first year at Samford University (often misheard as Stanford, and occasionally corrected), I began my internship at Nfocus. When asked by my peers how I would be spending my summer, I proudly spoke of this excellent opportunity, though I was unsure as to what this internship would actually involve. Towards the end of the school year, I received a call from Ellen, my new boss. After a conversation that provided little more information than the fact that my nose ring was acceptable in the office and business attire would not be necessary, I still was not sure what my job would be like that summer. .
When that highly anticipated day finally came, I was thrilled with what I found at the office: a cozy space (this is me putting a good spin on a small office) and good company. Ellen, always in constant conversation, either with us or possibly just herself, made me feel at home, her first words to me being: “Oh, aren’t you cute.” It was edit week, and I quickly made myself useful by accompanying Madison to Publix for the candies necessary to get the team through the stressful week, and then to The Picnic, where I amused Ellen by returning with a sausage casserole for my lunch (So what? I like to eat).
After that first week, I began my work on the 2010-2011 social calendar. With 147 nonprofit organizations and twenty-five schools on the list Sinclair had prepared for fellow intern Lindsey and me, the task seemed quite daunting. However, once I worked up the guts to get off the Internet and actually call people, the job went much more quickly. With my voicemail speech aptly memorized (“Hi, this is Emily Allen calling from the social calendar at Nfocus magazine…” you get the gist) I called nearly every name on the list, leaving countless voicemails and receiving many unfulfilled promises to email a list of events. After hours of routine phone calls, the calendar was finished.
My summer spent with Nfocus has been one filled with a variety of lessons: I learned that a dress makes for a much simpler outfit than trying to piece together a top and a bottom, I learned that Sour Patch Kids can make a week of editing much more bearable and I learned that by being myself, getting to know my coworkers and finding the courage to get off the computer and talk to people, it is easy to make an internship, or any other non-occupational situation, a successful one.
P. S. Thanks, Coach Hardaway.
When I originally heard I was going to be interning at Nfocus this summer, my immediate response was to watch The Devil Wears Prada. I figured the movie would prepare me for the harsh world I was about to enter. I could picture it: high heels, hardly any time for lunch, long hours and my own Miranda Priesly—Ellen Nelson.
Now, what the heck do I wear? The Devil Wears Prada girls were clad in designer duds and stilettos, but that just wasn’t going to work for a 16 year old like me. I texted Ellen (shudder), who said something along the lines of “wear whatever you want. ” That helps. After staring at my closet for 30 minutes, I picked out a cute top, dark wash jeans and threw on my Converse. I figured the look was comfortable, casual and formal enough to cut it.
I arrived for work on Tuesday, June 1, precisely 15 minutes early. I was greeted by Sinclair. First impression: Oh! She took that picture I saw on the website! I like her dress…She basically gave me the lowdown on my internship and informed me that Ellen would be there soon (I got goose bumps).
Enter Ellen. First impression: She’s wearing a dress. I should have worn a dress. “Oh hi there! What you’re wearing is fine. I was gonna come in today with a T-shirt and Nike running shorts on, so you’re cool,” Ellen exclaimed. Oh, okay, phew, I didn’t need to wear a dress. Ellen mentioned something about her dogs and rambled something about how we were going to have so much fun because it’s my first week. It was my first day, so I left after maybe an hour. Then, I proceeded to get lost downtown on my way home. Fun.
On my next day at work, I wore a dress. I met Madison. First impression: She has pretty hair, she’s really easy to talk to, and she’s the kind of person who always looks cute. I also met Eric. First impression: Cool mustache!
It wasn’t long until I discovered that my job wasn’t anything I had imagined. It was incredible! Everyday brought with it new, fun experiences. I often found myself laughing at a silly Jib Jab animation, or enjoying a lovely corndog from Hot Diggity Dog (they have the best fountain Coke there too, thank you Sinclair and Eric). I learned to blog and gained more confidence in myself as a writer because of it. I discovered that everyone wears jeans (or another comfy alternative) during edit week and that making business-oriented phone calls isn’t as scary as it may seem. I found out that Sinclair is always cold and Ellen’s always hot (hence the mini fan on her desk). I assisted at a photo shoot, met Moo and Meg, jammed to “My Chick Bad” by Ludacris, had a “Soleful Experience” and dreaded going home at 4:30—and that wasn’t just because it was rush hour.
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