NCERC

My Experience as a Public Relations Intern at a National Biotechnology Research Center

When you think about the team at the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center, you likely first think of people working in the different laboratories or Pilot Plant and the research staff that supports all of the different projects taking place at the Center. Initially, you might not think of the administrative staff and the different team members who work on the marketing/public relations side of the business. Fortunately, as an SIUE student earning a degree in Applied Communication Studies (ACS), I’ve been able to work directly with this important part of the team as an intern over the past several months. Needless to say, I’ve learned a lot about the field I’m studying, but also about how it intersects with lots of different industries, including biotechnology and agriculture. 

Working at NCERC while obtaining my degree has shown me what it is going to be like to work with an ACS degree. I get to do one of my favorite things which is posting on social media and coming up with content ideas. One thing that I have learned in the few months while working at NCERC is how to write captions on topics related to the ethanol industry. Another thing that I’ve done to contribute to our social media strategy is come up with content ideas and new ways to share NCERC news. For example, we recently updated our Ethanol Demo Kits and hosted an online contest to give away a kit along with a $100 gift card to a teacher. 

I’ve also enjoyed working with NCERC’s team to think of new ways to engage with our audience. As part of its social media strategy, I started a Tik Tok account for NCERC and have been using it to share updates by creating video content that can be edited and shared on a frequent, sometimes daily basis. By doing this, it has opened up opportunities to share information about NCERC and its staff with a new audience while using a new media. 

While taking classes at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, I have been able to take what I have learned in the classroom and apply it to my internship. Last semester, I took Communication in an Interviewing class, which gave me guidance on how to design questions based on who I’m interviewing and for what purpose. This knowledge was extremely helpful for me as I was designing questions for our Employee Spotlight interviews. Another ACS class that I took and has been beneficial for me in my role at NCERC is Introduction to Public Relations. This class has helped me be able to identify the marketable parts of NCERC and how to showcase them based on the audience we’re trying to target. I’ve used this knowledge to design social media posts showcasing the capabilities of NCERC’s facilities and the types of projects we can do for clients. 

If you are an Applied Communication Studies major, or pursuing a degree in the Marketing/Public Relations fields, I highly recommend applying to a job that is out of your comfort zone. For me, that was applying to the Marketing/PR Intern position at NCERC. I am excited to take what I have learned here and apply it to my future job.