Graduation Date: Fall 2023

 

Internship Placement: Finance Department Intern

 

Dylan Kanuch worked as a Finance Intern with the Nan Whaley & Cheryl Stephens gubernatorial campaign for 5 months. He learned a lot about public service but also learned about himself and how to leverage his strengths. Here’s what he had to say about his experience:

 

My boss at the restaurant I work for is a longtime associate and friend of Cheryl Stephens. He knows my major and let me know that she and Nan Whaley were looking for interns for their campaign.

 

My position included collaborating with other organizations, conducting donor research, planning events, and staffing. I also worked through many hours of call-time and other day-to-day tasks to support the finance department. My learning objectives were to gain insightful experience as to how political campaigns are structured and to gain professional experience. I expected to use a lot of data analysis and communication skills and I definitely utilized both skills and gained more experience in both areas. I talked to thousands of people over the phone and met with lots of notable Clevelanders. I didn’t expect to gain such a great deal of connections.

 

I didn’t know that the campaign would rely mostly on the work of us interns and volunteers.

 

My favorite project was organizing an event at Sinclair Community College in Dayton. This was my first solo project where I assumed full responsibility for planning and organizing a voter registration event. First, I reached out to the college to find a space and get an understanding of the rules and regulations. Once that was set, I reached out to all student organizations asking if they would be interested in partnering with us for the event. Once I coordinated with the students, I divided up tasks and gave them flyers and information to distribute. The event was a hit and it brought me a feeling of success and satisfaction.

 

I sharpened my public speaking skills as a result of the countless hours of call time required for the internship. Additionally, the projects I worked on and the tasks I completed make me feel much more prepared to enter the workforce than I did before my experience. The people I have met and the connections I created through this internship also far exceeded my expectations. I mostly thought I would be in the office doing stereotypical intern work, but I was treated as a part of the team and given a lot of responsibility and respect, allowing me to truly develop in my career path.

 

I learned that I love responsibility. I need to feel like I am doing meaningful work, or it is impossible for me to enjoy it.

 

What surprised me was how much I was relied on. The other interns and I were often doing 4-5 different projects at a time. Without our hard work, the campaign wouldn’t have made nearly as much money as it did.

 

I wrote multiple memos/briefs a week which involved researching organizations, elected officials, potential donors or people that might be able to aid the campaign, and some other information depending on the meeting or event which I was briefing. Additionally, I used my data analysis skills to build finance reports on event turnover.

 

This internship experience was valuable because of the real-life experiences that are difficult to get in school. I was depended on, respected, and appreciated for my efforts. This is something that I’ve felt was missing at previous jobs of mine. These factors made this experience extremely valuable in improving my sense of self-worth and capabilities.

 

Choose something that you are passionate about. Whether it pays or not, it will pay off, in the long run. You will learn a lot about yourself.

 

I will be continuing my journey toward a career in public service through other internships, jobs, and connections.