Hello everyone! This fourth year of interning through Ogallala Commons has sure kept me busy, and I cannot wait to share the details of my OC internship with all of you. As you may know, this summer marks my fourth year of interning at the Haxtun Chamber of Commerce, and the Chamber has been working on some very exciting projects this summer. My main role as the Haxtun Chamber of Commerce intern is marketing, and I have spent quite a bit of time designing online social media graphics as well as other advertising materials for town-wide events, such as Old Fashioned Saturday Night.

This summer, I got to try something totally new. I have designed t-shirt graphics before, but this summer was the first time that I had the opportunity to make the t-shirts myself. First, I created a logo for Old Fashioned Saturday Night, featuring some fun car show graphics and details about the event itself. Next, I got to learn about the process of making a t-shirt. I printed out the designs using a sublimation machine, and then heat-pressed the logo and sponsorship list on each shirt individually. The t-shirts were a big hit, and a great way to involve the community in Old Fashioned Saturday Night.
Besides the actual internship itself, another large aspect of being an OC intern is setting goals for your own personal growth. At the 2021 Ogallala Commons Retreat in Texas, I set three goals in three different categories: communication, leadership and expanding my professional network. For my communication goal, I am going to design at least 6 Facebook graphics for the Chamber of Commerce. In order to do this, I will need to effectively communicate with my supervisor to ensure I include all required information. In the leadership category, I am going to work one on one with 3 of my peers on how to become a leader. Finally, to expand my professional network, I am going to attend at least 2 local professional networking events, and network with 5 people (or more) at each. I am especially excited to reach these new networking goals this summer, as last year a large majority of my networking was done over Zoom calls.

Stay tuned for more!