Experience can’t be taught, or so I am told.

It is a widely spread idea that the only proper way to learn a skill with any real merit is to experience it firsthand. During my time at the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber as the communications intern, I have gained my share of experiences and I could not be more grateful to continue learning the lessons I have through them.

While internships sometimes get a bad rep for only allowing the intern the critical experiences of coffee runs and copy machine assistance, my internship at the chamber has been anything but. I have been offered the opportunity to gain knowledge and improve my skills on a daily basis by being made responsible for myself. My responsibilities have included writing and editing press releases, composing and scheduling social media posts for multiple platforms and designing and updating fliers for events.

As I am about to graduate from Oakland University with a major in communication and a minor in writing and rhetoric, I am trying to accept and embrace any and all opportunities to gain knowledge and experience before I officially enter the business world for myself. With this in mind, I was more than thrilled to have the chance to shadow at Brogan & Partners, many thanks to the chamber.

I was privileged enough to spend a morning in the offices at Brogan & Partners to shadow Kim Luebke and the many other departments at the advertising firm. I got a sneak peak into the inner workings of the social media, media and creative departments. Through this experience, I furthered my knowledge on strategies to better understand the clients and their clientele in order to create the most effective advertising.

Courtesy of my various experiences during this internship, I have come to a couple of realizations. First, experience truly cannot be taught. Experience is a teacher in itself that goes far beyond the classroom. Second, everyone works differently and that is OK. By working with several different people at the chamber and shadowing a few different departments at Brogan, it was made clear that each employee has their own way of accomplishing their goals.

Others accomplishing tasks in different ways than your own in not necessarily bad, it is just different. Organization, efficiency, ingenuity and personality all make an impact on how one goes about doing their work. Not only do you have to understand there will be differences in the office, but you also have to accept and respect those differing choices.

Experience not only allows gained knowledge and skill for work tasks, but also for work environments. An encouraging environment at work makes all of the difference and each individual has the opportunity to increase the positivity through acceptance. Accept not only the methods of your co-workers, but allow yourself to have your own.

I have grown in my ability, versatility and creativity through my internship at the Birmingham Bloomfield Chamber. And with this experience, I hope to continue to grow as I strive to enter the business world in an impactful way.

Angela Oliver is graduating from Oakland University in August and is actively seeking employment. She welcomes feedback at oliver.angela.m@gmail.com.