Beginning a Co-op placement during a Global Pandemic - My personal experience

Beginning the Post-Graduate Public Relations program at Mohawk College, I was looking forward to three aspects of the program:

1. Learning things that I can apply to the Public Relations Industry

2. Working with real-life clients through The Industry

3. Doing a Co-op placement in the Public Relations Industry

I accepted my offer to Mohawk College amidst the COVID-19 Global Pandemic. Did I figure that things would be different than they would normally? Of course. Did I expect that my entire co-op placement to be "virtual" and completely remote? No.

Although my placement experience is not what I expected, it has been an amazing experience.

I was lucky enough to receive a placement offer with Malarkey Kids Inc. Malarkey Kids creates fun teething toys for babies. All of their products have stimulating patterns and colours, food-grade silicone, and are FDA-Approved. 

My first day of placement, I spent a majority of my day on a Google Meets with my placement host. During this time, I learned about the company, their history, their products, the dynamic of the organization, and my role as an intern. 

My placement host and I had a common understanding that I was only able to work remotely. While this was not ideal and had a potential for unforeseen circumstances, we were up for the challenge because, as we have heard many times, this is the world we live in now. We made it work because thankfully we had a good professional relationship. Additionally, we have similar communication patterns that allows us to communicate easier.

Although I could not attend in person, I was invited to sit-in on their staff meeting. Although I was not able to experience the same energy as if I were sitting in the same room with the rest of the team, it was an amazing experience. I was able to contribute to the conversations, receive feedback on the work I have done thus far, and get to know the rest of the Malarkey Kids Team.

Throughout the beginning of this experience, I have learned:

1. Communication is key. No matter what channel you are using.

2. Being honest with your team is essentially for success.

3. Although it is not ideal, only having a virtual experience is not a huge burden with the technology that we have access to today.

4. If you have a team you trust, you can accomplish anything.

Malarkey Kids Staff Meeting