By Elizabeth (Izzy) Reel ’21
Saint Mother Theodore Guerin once said, “For we cannot do our work if we stay in the nest.” After hearing this quote during my first year at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC), I made it a point to remember this quote as a reminder of what I’m working for in my college career. After having my Avenue Moment in March 2017, I realized that flexibility and having an open mind is essential. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan and that is OK, but hard work is everything.
Hello! My name is Izzy Reel and I’m the student intern for the Marketing and Communications Office at SMWC. I grew up in the town of Sullivan, Indiana, and became familiar with SMWC throughout high school. Here I am, four years later, about to enter my senior year at The Woods.
A fun fact about myself is that I love to be involved. Being a student-athlete, as well as holding different leadership positions on campus, I’ve learned the importance of wanting to grow and build relationships. Around campus in my free time, you’ll usually see me hanging out in Woods Café drinking coffee and socializing, studying in Sullivan with my teammates on the soccer team or working out in club ’64.
At The Woods, I’ve learned that when an opportunity arises, you should take advantage of it. After completing a wonderful internship experience with RJL Solutions this past semester, I wanted to continue to grow in experiences that would prepare me for my future career, so I started looking for summer internship opportunities throughout the Wabash Valley. I’m thankful to have been granted the opportunity to intern on campus in the marketing department. Blog writing, crafting up press releases, publishing official final drafts onto the school website, and even getting experience about different tasks with digital marketing is just a touch of what I’ll be up to at The Woods.
If there is one thing I cherish most about The Woods, it is that the relationships and bonds you make truly do last a lifetime. In this internship experience, I’m excited to strengthen the bonds I’ve already made, while also forming new relationships. My goal is to grow in my knowledge using publishing platforms and learn more about the logistics and analytics of digital marketing and implementing website content. Aside from my professional goals, my personal goal is to grow in my writing style and continue to build my skills and techniques to take with me after graduation.
At this point in my academic journey, I’ve been asked countless times what I plan to do once I graduate. Although I have an open mindset of knowing that plans can always change, my goal is to pursue a career in public relations and communications. I’ll be the first to admit, writing isn’t for everyone, but if it wasn’t for SMWC, I wouldn’t have realized how important writing is to me and that I want to pursue a career in it. Being able to work with such a dedicated team is an opportunity that I have loved being a part of so far. I’m very excited to see what is come as I gain knowledge and experience on the campus I love surrounded by supportive people.
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