Communication Solutions Celebrates Intern #100

Jenkintown, PA…Had it not been for a series of dismal internships during her own college years, Leza Raffel, Abington resident and president of Communication Solutions Group, probably would not have been so driven to make certain internships at her public relations firm more meaningful. “I travelled all the way to CNN in Atlanta only to learn that my primary internship responsibility was opening the mail,” Raffel recalls. At another internship with a video production company, Raffel’s main job was going on a “food shop,” which basically meant buying snacks for the clients stuck in the editing suite. She felt underutilized and, more than anything else, incredibly bored, during those endless summers.

When she started her own full service public relations firm in 1991, she was committed to ensuring that interns felt useful and respected.

At Communication Solutions, interns have no time to open mail or sit idly. Instead they shoot photography, assist with graphic design, create social media content, and draft press releases for pro bono clients. One intern even played a drowning victim in a safety video. “Having interns do work with pro bono clients is a win-win for the intern and the nonprofit” Raffel said. Interns have a learning experience and nonprofits receive much-needed help. This hands-on approach gives interns the opportunity to gain valuable experience and fosters their love for the industry under the watchful eye and constructive guidance of Raffel.

Through its internship program, Communication Solutions Group has helped to inspire many bright careers over the years, including those of Inquirer sports columnist Mike Sielski, Internal Communication Consultant Cara Levy, and Temple Law student Morgan Schwartz. Kyra Bloom is a rising senior at Temple University and is the current Communication Solutions Group intern. Bloom is delighted to hold the title of intern #100 (a milestone that earned her the responsibility of interviewing several intern alumni about their shared experiences for this press release.)

Mike Sielski was one of the very first interns at Communication Solutions Group in 1994. At the time he was a sophomore in college at La Salle University and worked part time as a line cook at a deli in Northeast Philadelphia. During his internship, Communication Solutions only had two employees, including Raffel, and the public relations industry looked very different.

“There was a big book of addresses and phone numbers of all the newspapers in the area and I would have to go through that to send out all the press release mailings” Sielski said. “The whole process was tedious work, we couldn’t just go online and grab an address like you can today.” After completing his internship, he returned and became a part time employee. “It was a lot of fun,” Sielski said. Though he knew he didn’t want to go into the PR industry, Sielski said that it helped him in other aspects of communication. As a journalist now, Sielski appreciated that the internship “taught [him] what goes into getting someone interested in something – the PR side of communication.”

“There is something to be said for the environment Leza has created there. You should appreciate how hard the staff works, and don’t take the opportunity for granted,” said Sielski.

Like Sielski, Cara Levy was an early intern. She recalled what the office looked like when she worked there in 1997. “We had one computer that had dial up internet access and we would actually line up to use it,” Levy laughed. After completing her internship, Levy also came back as an employee – working during the summer and winter breaks while she attended Ithaca College. While at Communication Solutions Group, she worked on press releases, research, cold calling, website redesign, and interviewing.

That early experience gave her confidence and opportunity. Like all Communication Solutions interns, Levy left with a professional display of samples of her work at Communication Solutions Group and she believes that “being able to have a portfolio of actual work from the internship opened all the doors for [her].” Levy encourages all Communication Solutions interns to take full advantage of the position. “Don’t say no to anything because everything is a learning experience,” Levy said.

Morgan Schwartz was an intern in 2013 and worked in a much higher tech setting than the interns who preceded her. For the senior project at Upper Dublin High School, students had to spend the last month before graduation shadowing someone in a professional environment. “You had to try to find something out there that you wanted to do and see if you really liked it. And I really liked it,” Schwartz recalled. In fact, she liked her internship at Communication Solutions so much that she stretched the month-long assignment into a full summer internship before her freshman year at Penn State.

Today, Schwartz is in her final year of Law School at Temple University; and, though she’s not in communications anymore, she credits this internship with giving her an opportunity to be professional at a young age and teaching her vital skills including how to interview, how to read and write professionally, and how to interact with clients. Schwartz’s advice to interns is to “take advantage of all the resources and experiences you get. Learning how to interact with clients and staff members will take you far.”

Kyra Bloom, a senior at Temple University, a Cheltenham High School graduate and Communication Solution’s current and 100th intern, has gone on photoshoots, drafted press releases, put together a video advertisement, conducted interviews, designed posters, and she’s only two thirds through her time at Communication Solutions Group. Bloom hopes to follow in the path of previous interns and find a job doing something she’s passionate about.

Raffel, now in her 28th year in business, wants all of her interns, especially her female interns to know that “There shouldn’t be any constraints to prevent you from doing whatever you want to do.” She loves helping interns step out of their comfort zones to foster new skills and believes that “An internship is a safe space to try something you had no idea you were capable of doing without fear of failure.”

Raffel’s Tips for Successful Internships

• Ask a lot of questions and understand the broader context of what you are doing. How does your assignment fit into the whole picture?

•Listen in when things go wrong – see how it gets handled.

• Take yourself out of your comfort zone. Try new things! If you mess up, someone will teach you how to fix it.

• Save everything you do and use it to build your portfolio. Show off what you have accomplished.

•Stay in touch with your internship supervisor. You never know when you will need her as a reference!

For more information on Communication Solutions visit www.comsolutions.com