SHARON, Pa. — Recent Penn State Shenango graduate Gianna Effinite, a corporate communication major, was one of the inaugural interns at the Shenango LaunchBox powered by the Greater Sharon Community during the spring 2024 semester.
Gianna discusses her experience at the LaunchBox, as well as lessons learned, and how her Penn State Shenango classes helped prepare her for success in this role.
Begin Q&A:
Q: What are your roles at the LaunchBox, and what are some of the projects you're involved with?
A: The roles I had at the LaunchBox were coordinating meetings and running them with clients. I also took pictures for the "Meet Ben" series. I attended meetings with Project Coordinator Tom Roberts and gathered more information about the community, organizations, and businesses involved.
Q: What classroom experiences at Shenango prepared you for your roles at the LaunchBox?
A: Group projects and my communication classes were very helpful. When working on presentations for LaunchBox, it is important to be collaborative and get feedback from everyone who is involved. Corporate Communication classes are also helpful when you present and meet new people. With what I have learned through my classes, I know that it is good to be positive and approachable.
Q: What are the key lessons you’ve learned during your internship experience?
A: Key lessons that I have learned are professional and personal skills, and networking. Each skill has been enhanced more since starting my internship at the LaunchBox.
Q: How did you apply your real-world LaunchBox experiences to your classes at Shenango?
A: I applied what I learned at the LaunchBox to my business and marketing classes. Communication is the biggest experience that can be applied to pretty much any class at Shenango. This included writing papers, making speeches, networking, one-on-one conversations, group work, and using technology to communicate.
Q: Would you say that your internship experience helped you towards reaching your ultimate career goals?
A: I'm interested in a business or marketing job. My internship at the LaunchBox helped me realize that meeting with people and being creative are things that I want to continue doing.
