Our 2017 summer interns, Alison Bonaviso and Mitchell Axelson, share their final thoughts about their experience working at Scholastic. We thank them for their amazing dedication and hard work.
Working at Scholastic is an experience of a lifetime. Sadly, today is our last day at the office, but we have had the best time working here! We wanted to share our top three favorite things about our summer internships. There were so many fun experiences and it was rather difficult to narrow it down. Thank you, readers, for letting us share our thoughts and ideas about the power and joy of reading for fun.
Alison’s final thoughts:
- As a kid, I loved books from Scholastic. As an adult working at the “home” of iconic books and characters this summer, I have rediscoved my love of reading. The Scholastic offices are filled with books from top to bottom. I even received a signed copy of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey, as well as a new book set of The Hunger Games series. They are both sitting very pretty on my bookshelf at home. In addition, my co-workers also provided me the best book recommendations and I have been reading nonstop all summer! No “summer slide” for this college kid.
- Speaking of co-workers, the Corporate Communications team here is amazing! As an intern, one could have expected to do stereotypical intern duties like getting coffee and making copies, but not here! The team had us doing real, meaningful work that really made a difference and helped us grow as communications professionals. We worked on the 2017 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge and got to see its impact on kids nationwide through social media and local events. The team treated us like colleagues and it is an experience I will be forever grateful for as I grow in my career.
- As a communications major at school, having an experience like this internship gave me an inside and practical look at the media industry. In the classroom you learn how and why media professionals execute business plans, but an internship offers you the chance to apply what you learned into the real world. It was a valuable experience to learn tips and tricks of the media industry and I will carry these lessons with me throughout my career.
Mitch’s final thoughts:
- One of the most exciting days in the office was when a group of students from China came to visit Scholastic. Our Corporate Communications team planned a special day of activities for them to enjoy during their visit to New York City. With the help of the team at KLUTZ, our team set up different activity stations. Setting up these crafts brought me back to my childhood making paper airplanes and friendship bracelets. The kids also got a chance to take a tour of the Scholastic archives and had a chance to meet Clifford the Big Red Dog. It was nice to see firsthand how excited the kids were for their “day at Scholastic.” It reminded me how impactful the company really is for children worldwide.
- This summer, Alison and I were able to take a tour of the Scholastic archives. It was amazing to be in one place with all of the work Scholastic has been involved with since the 1920s. We were able to see the first book published by Scholastic and how the company has evolved. As we searched through the archives, we learned that Scholastic is so much more than just books. It includes Classroom Magazines, educational activities, professional development guides for educators and so much more.
- One of the projects I spent the most time with was the Scholastic Summer Reading Road Trip. It was a fun opportunity to with engage local communities about the importance of summer reading. Seeing the great responses to the events on social media always motivated me to keep working hard to ensure as many kids as possible would find out when the RV was making a stop near them.
If it were not for this internship, we might have never met each other or become friends. We had the best time this summer. Thank you, Scholastic, for making this an excellent professional – as well as personal - experience.
Scholastic
