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3 -4 minute read

Opportunity at the right time

Published on
February 17, 2023
Contributors
Maria Heath
Promotions Coordinator
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Hello! My name is Maria Heath, and I’m a sophomore studying Public Relations and English at Drake University. I’m thrilled to be the Am I Doing This Right? promotions intern. Reading and storytelling have always been passions of mine, so a road to publishing publicity seems like the path my life is meant to take. The opportunity to work with Tony, Matthew, and Jeff came at just the right time.

My third semester on campus was not my favorite nor the easiest. Growing pains were a theme of the semester. I learned some classes are meant to make you sweat, and sometimes disappointment can help you grow. A loss of an opportunity opened my availability to pursue a semester internship, something I hadn’t considered. I naively expected my career skills to be a summertime endeavor. In hindsight, that opportunity wasn’t for me because I was instead able to accept an exciting internship that gets me closer to my aspirations.

My parents and I have this phrase that is spoken around our household whenever mundane tasks just seem impossible. “Adulting is hard.” And that’s the truth. Working the job you love, communicating with your boss, and finding time to see your friends and family is a lot to juggle. While being an adult grants you freedom and independence to live the life you seek, those same joys come with the impossible task of doing and completing everything you desire.

Am I Doing This Right? is a book that aims to help ease that burden. Tony, Matthew, and Jeff work with their team of leaders to provide emerging professionals with the tools they need to make adulting easier. In this life, nobody should have to attempt any hard thing alone, and the Am I Doing This Right? team offers the support of a mentor you didn’t know you needed.

The chapter that most resonated with me was one that centered around balance. As I have grown and discovered more about the world, my aspirations have changed and transformed, but two goals have always remained the same. I want to mean something to the world and the world to someone. The far-off challenge of one day nailing a PR pitch or a book release event and then making it home in time to make dinner and hear about my family’s days seems that much more achievable thanks to the words of wisdom in this chapter.

Feedback gets its own chapter, and this content challenged my previously held understanding. Accepting feedback has never been something that comes easy for me. The hands-on approach to expressing the kind of feedback you’re looking for is something I can try to receive constructive criticism that will best support me. 

I also valued the revelations presented in the chapter on teamwork. In high school, I was driven by the mentality of “if you want something done well, do it yourself.” Fortunately, my college self has realized the impracticality of this statement. 

Asking for help is an adulting skill I am still working on. However, having roommates who support me or working with a team of peers in my university’s admissions office has opened my eyes to the wide realm of teams of which I am an important part. Personal teams or professional teams need many of the same ingredients. Passion, patience, accountability, and trust. Am I Doing This Right? helps readers understand what creates a successful team.

I am looking forward to all I can learn from this internship experience and continued immersion in the content provided in Am I Doing This Right? I can’t wait to explore my ideas and discover new tactics. But most of all, I am eager to learn how to DO THIS RIGHT! :)

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