Prior to applying for internships, Communications Major Mikayla Fritzemeier wouldn’t have imagined she would be working on website design and development. But when an opportunity sent by COMS Administrator Shelly Stephens arrived in her inbox, Fritzemeier decided to take a chance.
The remote opportunity played a huge role in Fitzemeier choosing Hope Horizon Communications as her internship. As a full-time student who is also working a part-time job, she wanted to find an internship that was either remote or featured flexible hours.
When Fritzemeier discovered that Hope Horizon focused on tutoring and mentoring underserved youth in East Palo Alto, she was sold. The non-profit organization helps young people gain life skills, and develop as leaders. Fritzemeier found these goals in alignment with her values and desire to participate in community outreach.
Since starting the internship, Fitzemeier has taken on new skills. At first, she started by updating the website and learning the basics. Slowly, she was eased into her role and learned the essentials of website layout and content creation. While Fritzemeier had no prior experience with web development, this internship has helped her gain a solid understanding of the fundamentals.
She described what it is like to apprentice her new skills. “Being able to be creative and layout pages myself has been really fun and a great experience,” she said.“Though it's stressful to have to design pages myself, I have fun working on more creative projects.”
Fritzemeier primarily communicates with her supervisor through email or Zoom which has taught her the importance of communication. She says she appreciates her independence and the support she has found. It’s especially beneficial to have a supervisor who is a Sonoma State graduate and is so supportive.
“Working at Hope Horizon East Palo Alto has been a really nice experience,” she said. “Everyone has been kind and helpful. I get to do my projects on my own time. I do have deadlines, but they are always reasonable and manageable.”
Fritzemeier says she’s truly truly proud of her newfound understanding of web design and looking forward to exploring new opportunities and options in the future.