- Mass Communication: Public Relations Option
- Class of 2015
- Arnold, MO
Stephanie Kolisch Interns at St. Louis Children's Hospital
2013 Jul 30
Stephanie Kolisch of Arnold, Mo., who is pursuing her Bachelor of Science degree with a major of mass communication and an emphasis in public relations, is interning at St. Louis Children's Hospital this summer.
"I've been able to do a lot of really amazing things during my time with St. Louis Children's Hospital, but I think the best day of my internship is a tie between the day I helped escort Jon Jay, Chris Carpenter and Shane Robinson around the hospital to give teddy bears to patients, and the day I was able to observe a surgery on an infant in the operating room," Stephanie said.
Stephanie helps plan and attend community education events at family-friendly places such as the St. Louis Zoo and the Magic House. She also creates community benefit reports, monitors the hospital's social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and accompanies any news team or photographer who visits the hospital.
"St. Louis Children's Hospital is such an amazing part of St. Louis. I've been able to see that firsthand with the departments I get to work with. The doctors and nurses are really inspiring also - all they seem to care about is getting the kids better as fast as they can and making them smile along the way," Stephanie said.
Stephanie's sorority, Tri Delta, works with another children's hospital, which inspired her to apply for an internship at a children's hospital. Working at the hospital has also inspired her career decision. She wants to have a career where she can affect the lives of children every day.
Stephanie says she loves her major because it will offer her many career opportunities. She has also learned so much from attending classes at Southeast.
"My professors and advisors do everything they can to help me succeed. Southeast also gave me the opportunity to grow up and learn more about myself. College isn't always easy and being able to be yourself and have people who are really there for you takes some of the pressure off of you," Stephanie said.
After graduating, she plans to work in a pediatric hospital in its media relations or communications department.
"Working at St. Louis Children's Hospital has shown me that this is exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life. I would also love to travel and maybe live in another part of the country for a few years," Stephanie said.
She has held two offices in her sorority at Southeast. She was the web designer and is currently the risk management chair. She said joining her sorority was the best decision she made in college.
"It has opened so many doors for me and given me friends I couldn't imagine going through college without," Stephanie said. "Tri Delta teaches you how to work hard for what you want, to be there for others and to be the best version of yourself."
Her friends in Tri Delta have helped her make some of her best memories. Homecoming, Greek Week and hanging out with her friends are her favorite memories at Southeast. Last Homecoming her sorority and its partner, Sigma Nu, won first place in the Homecoming float competition.
"That made it a pretty amazing memory, especially since we spent so much time and hard work building our float and competing in the challenges," she said.
In addition to working with her sorority, Stephanie enjoys visiting places like Cape Rock, the riverfront and the Trail of Tears beach, which she says are "some of the prettiest places in Cape Girardeau." She also likes to craft, watch intramurals, visit the beach, go out to eat with her friends and participate in philanthropies with her sorority.
She advises students to make sure they take advantage of every opportunity they are offered in their lives.
"I would tell future students to take every opportunity that is given to you," Stephanie said. "College doesn't last forever, even though we wish it would. It's easy to miss the chances if you're not paying attention. Always be ready to try something new even if you're scared. You never know how it could turn out. While college is a very serious thing, you still have to enjoy life and be young. Life goes by way too fast to kill yourself trying to be the best at everything. Try your hardest and everything else will fall into place."