“I don’t see myself ever working full time in public relations,” I wrote in my journal fall of sophomore year. …
No one told me college would be harder when it got easier. As a junior PWID student at Cedarville University, …
Sitting in a circle of students, I listened to the happy chatter as my professor prepared for class. Suddenly, one …
“Every single one of you is here for a reason this summer: to use your gifts to make a difference …
“Did you know there’s a website students are using to write papers for them?” my dad asked me over dinner …
There I was, a sophomore walking into my second PWID class. I took a seat in the front row next …
You can hardly type fast enough as your fingers fly across the keys. Your thoughts compose sentences rapidly, and you …
I wish it came easy. I wish I could sit down and write. I wish there wasn’t always a battle. It was only a few months before I graduated high school that God made it perfectly clear to me PWID was where He wanted me.
My editing internship at an economics office this summer required that I dabble in free market philosophy. I had been trying to read one meaty article, scratching through the pages with underlines and question marks and brief abstractions of the text. But what I found at the end of this scholarly essay was a line of music, of rhythm, timbre, pitch.
When I first came into PWID, the whole internship process seemed mystical, terrifying, and like a very “grown up” thing to do for someone who wasn’t even sure she was on the right career path. I kind of looked forward to it, because it sounded like something that would make me feel like a real professional and help me grow my skills, but I was mostly filled with a sense of dread—how would I find an internship? Would I like it? Would my classes truly prepare me for the experience?
Naomi Leak is a 2018 Professional Writing and Information Design graduate. She recently started working for Sparkbox, a web design and development company located in Dayton, Ohio. In this interview with Naomi, she describes her position as Communication Specialist and explains how she landed the job. She also offers advice for current PWID students who are preparing for internships and full-time jobs after graduation.
People always talk about “doing what you love” or “finding your passion.” Poetic and valid, yes, but the process is not exactly one-size-fits-all. You can’t discover your passion from a Google search. I came to Cedarville undeclared—I had no idea what to do with myself. I wasn’t overly worried, but I was on the edge of my proverbial seat, waiting for what the next chapter in my story might be about. Turns out, the Lord wrote it better than I ever could have.
As a freshman, I thought that I was sentenced to scrubbing dishes in the dining hall for my next four years at Cedarville. I listened to upper-level Professional Writing and Information Design students talk about client projects and job offers from organizations. I knew that an internship would eventually come, but I had no idea where to start.
I made significant progress, yet I ended up back where I started. How is that possible? In the fall of 2000, when I stepped on the Cedarville University campus as a freshman for Getting Started weekend, my parents made me get my picture taken with the campus mascot, known as “the bee”, because I was too nervous and embarrassed. I was uncovering my interests and gaining my footing as a young, independent adult.
“Are you still interested in serving with Samaritan’s Purse? And are you willing to go to our office in Canada?” I had no idea Samaritan’s Purse even had an office in Canada and no clue what my position would be if I accepted the internship offer.
There I was, a sophomore walking into my second PWID class. I took a seat in the front row next …
Late on the night of June 11, 2022, I desperately searched through Cedarville’s undergraduate course guide. I was considering switching …
I first came to Cedarville in the fall of 2021 with a declared major in Communication, but I had no …
I vividly remember the emotions that come with being a senior in high school. Probably because of the number of …
Sitting in Tyler 102, I eagerly waited for Intro to Professional Writing, my first Professional Writing and Information Design (PWID) class, to begin. Students filed in, some greeting the professor, and took their seats at the rows of tables facing the projector. Excitement cascaded through me. This is it; I’m finally here!
After trying out two different majors, my four-year plan was a mess. At this point, no one looking at my schedule could tell what I wanted to do with my future—and neither could I. My dream of one day looking forward to the “big kid” world of a stable job seemed to slip away into hoping I could make it to graduation changing my major less than ten times.
