Takeaways from my Internship with Mother of Pearls Public Relations

Lily Wharton, 2026 Winter & Spring Intern

As a full-time student athlete, balancing everything on my schedule doesn’t leave much room for a traditional internship. Between practices, travel, classes, and everything in between, finding something that fits both my schedule and my career interests can be challenging.

That’s one of the things that made my time with Mother of Pearls Public Relations such a great fit. Over the past several months, I’ve had the chance to create social media content, write news releases, attend meetings and events, and work directly with clients across a variety of projects.

Through that work, whether I was brainstorming Reel ideas, designing graphics, or figuring out how to capture a client’s voice, a lot of it started to click. Looking back, there are a few experiences that stuck with me.

Learning to Write from Someone Else’s Perspective
One thing my communications courses emphasize constantly is understanding your audience. It sounds straightforward in theory but doing that in real client work is different.

During my internship, I learned every client has a different voice and relationship with their audience. Learning to step into that perspective, rather than writing from my own, was something I had to practice constantly. It’s not just about sharing information but telling a story in a way that feels natural to the organization and meaningful to the community.

It’s a concept I had studied before, but this internship was the first time I truly applied it.

Turning Everyday Moments into Stories
One of the things that surprised me most about working in PR was how often a story starts with something small.

Instead of always starting with a planned idea, a lot of the content I worked on came from simply paying attention to what was happening in the moment. A quick interaction, a staff member explaining a resource, or a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a program could all become meaningful content. Over time, I started to look at those moments differently, less as content to fill a post and more as something worth sharing.

Some of the posts I’m most proud of focused on the people behind the scenes: staff and leaders who make these spaces what they are. Highlighting those moments made the content feel more real and gave a better sense of what these organizations look like day to day.

Being Treated Like a Teammate
One of the things that made this internship stand out was the way I was treated from the beginning. At Mother of Pearls, I never felt like I was “just the intern.”

Tammy and Madi made a consistent effort to bring me into the team’s work and conversations. I was invited to team meetings, client meetings, and update calls, and even when I wasn’t deeply involved in a specific project, they still asked for my thoughts and feedback.

That level of trust changed how I approached my work. When you feel like your perspective is valued, you’re more willing to contribute ideas, ask questions, and take ownership of what you’re doing. That kind of mentorship is rare, especially early in a professional experience.

Because of that, this internship gave me a much clearer understanding of what public relations looks like day to day. It’s not just writing or posting content: it’s learning how to think from different perspectives, finding stories in moments that might otherwise go unnoticed, and working as part of a team that values collaboration and trust.

I’m incredibly grateful to Tammy and Madi for creating an environment where I felt supported, challenged, and included from the start. Their mentorship made it possible for me to learn by doing and grow more confident in my work over time.