HPU Summer Internship Spotlight
By Alexis Ancel// News Editor
Left, Bilena Settepani is pictured at Whitehair.Co where she worked as a fashion and PR intern. Right, Toby Black is pictured at ABC News during the Democratic National Convention. Photos submitted
Internship experience can be a crucial step in advancing a student’s future career, which is why many High Point University students choose to participate in some sort of internship experience at least once in their college career.
Whether the position is with a national organization or a local company, internships provide real-world experience in students’ fields of study.
Regardless of the field, internships give students the opportunity to either explore a new interest or build a foundation for a desired career path.
These HPU students interned at various workplaces around the world where they were able to gain this kind of experience, as well as form professional relationships and contacts that will be beneficial after graduation.
Bilena Settepani
Intern at fashion PR company Whitehair.Co in London, England
Communications Major, Class of 2018
Favorite Opportunity: “I loved being in London and working behind the scenes of photo shoots. I learned so much and obtained so much hands on experience. I also loved reaching out to celebrities to get them to wear our clients’ brands. It was really interesting learning how magazines selected clothing and shoes for their photo shoots.”
What You Learned: “Since my freshman year, I have changed my major three times and I think this internship gave me a taste of real life and what it takes to get to where I want to be when I graduate. I loved everything about my internship. Not only did it teach me a lot about the fashion world, but it also taught me how to grow up and be a more mature person.”
Toby Black
Intern at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia
Political Science Major, Class of 2018
Favorite Opportunity: “I was able to attend the Democratic National Convention and work for ABC as a runner through High Point University. Since I was a runner, I mostly just ran errands such as getting coffee, picking up food for the ABC crew and bringing people their credentials.”
What You Learned: “It was an incredible experience seeing what goes into media, what a convention is like, as well as to be able to see the protestors and how passionate they are about each of their causes.”
Alexandra Cote
Intern at startup company Peloton in New York City
Visual Merchandising Major, Class of 2018
Favorite Opportunity: “My favorite part of the experience is that I’m the head of the department. I’m figuring it out on my own, so it’s nice to be by myself doing it. It’s cool to figure out my own craft. They treat me like an adult and everyone’s very understanding when I have questions. Another one of my favorite things is that I work in the city. I love being in New York.”
What You Learned: “The most important thing I’ve learned from this experience is time management. Learning how to manage my time and how to not get stressed over things has been beneficial for me. I hand in projects at school but it’s definitely not the same. I think it’s helped me overall because visual merchandising is a very broad major. I think after working here I definitely want to go into, being a buyer. It’s definitely a field I want to tap into and I don’t think I would have known that if I hadn’t had this experience.”