Day in the Life: Executive Communications Intern

Hi! I’m Andrew Sun , the Executive Communications intern here at SKDK. Join me for a workday in my life this summer!

Each morning when I arrive in the office, I pull out my notebook and write out my tasks for the day. Today, I did so while indulging in a chocolate chip bagel (our office orders them once a week — always a highlight).?

Then, I spent some time sweeping through the last 24 hours’ worth of news for one of our clients on the Exec Comms team, which is my only daily assignment. My tasks are dynamic and dependent on the needs of our clients, which I love, but it’s nice to start each morning in a routine.

After that, I went to grab coffee with Alexis Sargent , a Director on the exec comms team. Coffee chats are always an enjoyable part of my workweek — a widespread coffee chat culture is just one pillar of SKDK’s emphasis on intern development. Today, we talked about the philosophical differences between the fields of journalism and public affairs.?

Afterward, I prepared for and participated in a workshop brainstorming meeting with another client. Exec Comms runs workshops on message training and development for clients, which are always an opportunity for me to learn how meticulously our team edits messages, so that a political or organizational narrative maximizes its reach.

After lunch, we got word that an op-ed our team worked on was successfully published in a magazine! It's always cool to see our work reach the final draft stage. I also spent some time researching quotes for a client’s speeches — research, I’ve learned this summer, is a vital part of the speechwriting process.

In the afternoon, I acted as the cameraperson for a media training session. These sessions help our clients prepare for high-stakes media engagements.

Before logging off, our Exec Comms team had our weekly writer’s workshop! During these meetings, which are one of my favorite parts of the internship, our team discusses, brainstorms, and workshops speeches, op-eds, and narratives that we’ve produced for our clients. They’re also just a space to nerd out a bit about great writing.

Thanks for coming along!