Thank You Skillsoft for Helping Me Grow

As I near the end of my internship at Skillsoft, I can’t help but reminisce about when I started a few months ago and now think about what the future holds for me. This experience has forever changed me — it has been a taste of a dream I’ve always wanted to pursue. From writing to designing, to brand planning and researching, I’ve been given the chance to figure out what areas of the Communications field I enjoy most. As I enter my Junior year at Emerson, I know I still have plenty of time to decide what I want to pursue professionally post-grad, but I can say with absolute conviction that over the course of the past 6 months, I have fallen even more in love with Communications.

When I first decided to go to college in Boston, I wanted to be a writer, specifically a magazine writer. It was a huge decision for my family and I — they sacrificed so much to send me to college in the United States from my home country of Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, once I started to dip my toes into magazine writing, I quickly learned it wasn’t for me and it completely crushed the plan I had set for myself. I had no idea what I wanted to do as a career. I knew I enjoyed my Communications classes, but I was lost and didn’t know what to do. Fast forward to the Pandemic’s peak, I was on the verge of simply giving up and staying home permanently. I felt that I had lost my will to fight for those dreams I once had. It was a slow and isolating process to get back up on my feet. Once springtime came around, I figured I’d stay home and take some of my classes online. While at home, I decided to look for remote Communications internships to find out if I wanted to stay in the field. Just like something out of a movie, I was blessed with this opportunity when I needed it the most.

While I could write pages upon pages to explain how much I’ve learned during my time at Skillsoft, how much I grew professionally and personally, and how much I absolutely love Asana and will most likely use forever (no joke) — to give you a gist, I will tell you three things that I will never forget from this internship:

1. Prioritizing

For as long as I can remember, I have always struggled to figure out what was actually most important. For example, in my personal life, before I would have skipped a doctor’s checkup for a volleyball practice — it was hard for me to set my priorities straight. During my internship, I had to work on tasks that were sometimes time-sensitive, which meant to put them on the top of my “to do” list and get them done before the deadline. Other times I had various tasks to manage with competing deadlines, and I had a rough time figuring out which to prioritize. With time, lots of help, and practice, I’m able to successfully prioritize tasks and assignments on my own and look forward to applying this skill to both my personal life, and my future professional endeavors.

1. Culture of Learning, Support, Trust, and Acceptance: Tools Needed to Grow

At Skillsoft, interns are given the resources needed to make their experience meaningful — not only do they encourage a culture of learning, but they encourage a culture of support, trust, and acceptance. I was quickly integrated into the team as someone they could count on, which made feel valued and accepted as an equal. Everyone on the team gave it their all to help me learn about the industry, what initiatives and programs the Comms department oversees, and the integral role Communications plays for a growing company. Prior to my internship, I had no idea the Communications field had such a large influence in the growth of a company. It was a sight to behold when Skillsoft went public; it made me feel proud and thankful to be a part of a company that provided me with the tools to grow.

1. People at Skillsoft Believe in Your Potential

Everyone I’ve met has been eager to help the Skillsoft interns hone their skills. They do believe in everyone’s potential to be amazing. I can’t stress on how important it was for me to have a team believe in me, with the goal to help me be the best version of myself. They gave me constructive feedback, encouraged me to explore different areas of Communications, and trusted me with tasks where I could have creative leeway. As cheesy as it sounds, I truly couldn’t have done it without them.

Thank you, Jen, Emma, and Gianna, for believing in me! Thank you, Skillsoft!

I’m not sure what the future looks like for me, but thanks to everything I’ve learned during this internship, it sure looks a bit brighter.