My name is Stephanie Nikitenko and I am an undergraduate student attending Knox College for Creative Writing. My internship with IWPA this summer will be an absolutely phenomenal opportunity for me to engage with the field of writing and communications. I am fortunate enough to have been invited to several of their events over the summer months, such as Printer’s Row Lit Fest in June and a Summer Social with the Chicago Writers Association in July. I hope to learn as much as I can as well as make some great connections.

A fascinating turn of events led to my hearing about IWPA, as it was a rejection email from another publishing company that did not utilize interns that referred me to their website. I had not previously heard of IWPA and so my first reaction was to hop onto my laptop and Google them for more information. I scanned their website and familiarized myself with some of their history and the vision that they have for their association, which led to me sending them an inquiry. I was specifically drawn to their extensive history of perpetuating the role of women in the fields of writing, journalism, and communications, but also the numerous services that they provide their members. I knew that I wanted to be a part of such a caring and nurturing environment.

I received a response to my inquiry the next morning and, after some correspondence, I was granted the opportunity for a phone interview and eventually the internship. Although I have just begun my internship with IWPA, I am incredibly excited to get started and help out in whatever capacity I can. I expect that I will learn a lot about how the association functions, what their game plan for the future looks like, and what steps the association intends to take in order to reach their set goals.

In my role as an intern I will have the chance to promote IWPA through social media, write and manage web content, write blog posts such as this one, and be involved in IWPA’s outreach to high school and college-aged students for their communications contests. I feel incredibly honored to be able to have such a versatile role as an intern and be granted the autonomy that they have given me with my assignments. As IWPA’s first intern I will do my best to make this a continuing tradition.