Best Internship Advice

My 5 Life Lessons Learned During My Internship

By Mariela M.

As I entered my third year at UCR, I thought it was time to find an internship to gain some necessary experience for my interest in marketing. I came across the Mothership Scrapbook Gal intern ad thanks to my Trio Scholar’s program director and was instantly drawn by the job description. Growing up I was always into arts and crafts so this was perfect for me.

It has been an amazing journey working with Rina as her intern for Mothership Scrapbook Gal. Just like any journey there have been some bumpy roads here and there but it is something that I’ve learned and has helped me grow as an intern. I can’t thank Rina enough for everything she does for not only me, her business – Mothership Scrapbook Gal and also for the Riverside community.

Organizing your life using a list

I never realized how important it is to be organized until I started college. I also did not know the importance of making lists until I started my internship. No matter what Rina always had a list in handy. She showed me how it helps her list her top priorities in order. Because of her, I now use lists for everything. Since then it has helped me with organizing better than ever. Not only that but it has also helped me with relieving my stress. I thought I would have so many things to do, but in reality it was quite the opposite – I now take the time to write down the things that are most important for me to tackle each day. Rina and I also use Passion Planners, that was so fun to discover we had our planners in common. Check out Rina’s post on the best planners for creative minds here: http://mothershipscrapbookgal.com/2016/11/25/holiday-gift-guide-for-planner-supplies.html

Time Management: Finding the right balance

When I started, I had to figure out how to balance school, my job, and my internship. I had to find an equal balance from internship assignments to school assignments. I also had to make sure I was available for Mothership Scrapbook Gal events. Rina made sure she emailed me as to when she planned her events. I remember to note myself to put everything in my agenda. I liked the fact that she would work around my midterm/final exams making sure I focused on my studies first more than anything. The most important thing I learned from this experience is to NOT procrastinate. I know now to just plan everything with time. When I would do my Facebook posts for a week or even a month in advanced, it gave me such relief of not worrying about what and when to post.

Networking

Taking part of the Mothership Scrapbook Gal events such as Crafty Happy Hour and a few of the pop-up shops, I have met great people. From this, I saw how many connections that Rina has with the Riverside community. Thanks to these connections she is able to gain great promotions for her business. I realize that how important it really is to network to be able to advance in the work place no matter what setting you plan to work in. The weekend Rina attended the Creativation Show in Phoenix she told me about the amazing people she got to meet. There was one woman who she connected with that worked across seas for the country’s military base in Japan. Because of this woman, Rina had a huge order of card kits. That made me realize that in the end networking can create great opportunities just like it did for her business.

Letting Your Imagination Run Wild

I loved being able to express my creativity with this internship. In the beginning, Rina introduced me to photo editing with PicMonkey, an image editing website. From there she showed me how I can edit the Monday Motivation and TGIF posts using this website. It was really cool just letting loose and freely edit the photos the way I want. I could use border designs, different texts, images, and so much more. The crafty kits that she has given me as gifts has allowed me to further express my creativity outside of the studio. It was nice knowing I can express my imagination and creativity freely. I’m not used to doing that since I’m always so focused with college exams and writing papers. This showed me that I shouldn’t be afraid to show the creative side.

Staying Positive No Matter What

This was by far the most important lesson I learned from this internship journey with Mothership Scrapbook Gal. There are going to be times in life when things don’t turn out the way we want them to be. Because of this, all we can do is get through those things with a positive perspective. Whenever there was an issue having to do with the business of Mothership Scrapbook Gal – Rina and I would think about the positive aspects of it. Once we thought about the positive it got us motivated to work harder. We knew that eventually it will work out for the best. What also helped during those times was when Rina and I would listen to music and prepare our crafty goodies for our next event. Those were the best stress relieving times for the both of us and that I will miss.

NOTE from Miss Rina:

I have included a few notations on the photos in this blog post.  What you cannot capture in a photo is the growth and enthusiasm from this excellent intern.  I am grateful for everything that Mariela has contributed to my small business.

Thank you to Mariela for all of your hard work and dedication to this internship! I am sad that I won’t see you as often, but I am happy that you are going to continue as the Lead Intern for the Facebook Business Page. Thank you for being the VOICE of Mothership Scrapbook Gal and offering positive statements and images for our Facebook Fans. Your ability to be consistent, willingness to provide excellent customer service and hard work ethic are going to take you very far in life. Thank you Mariela!