Finding My Flow, One Roundup at a Time

The Monday after the Fourth of July weekend, the Porter Novelli office felt unusually quiet. My two managers and maybe one other coworker were holding down a space built for forty. But when you’re a intern, you show up ready. I logged in, opened my notebook, and got to work.

By now, I’ve gained a solid understanding of billing codes, project trackers, and what it takes to keep a workflow moving smoothly. Each day brings a fresh mix of structure and curveballs, and I’m finding my rhythm while learning from both wins and losses. My mornings usually start with writing down priorities. Then I put on headphones and join our weekly team meetings where we review wins, losses, timelines, and anything needing extra attention.

After that, I jump into media monitoring, scanning news for client-related stories, summarizing key points, and identifying important mentions. For the daily roundups, I’ve started using ChatGPT to help organize my thoughts and sharpen summaries, which has really boosted my efficiency, because sometimes even interns need a little AI sidekick. Over time, I’ve gotten faster and more comfortable deciding which stories matter and when to bring in my perspective.

Later that week, I joined Zoom office hours with our North America President. With 85 people on the call, I asked how to recover after making a mistake. His advice about becoming an excellence person, someone who owns errors, learns, and returns with confidence, really stuck with me.

That same week, I found myself at a disability-focused art show on the Upper East Side. After the event, I decided to head home on wheels all the way from 99th Street down to Broome Street. That’s over an hour and a half of power-wheeling through the city, headphones in, breeze in my face, full speed ahead. I shredded one of my wheelchair wheels down to its literal core. I’m pretty sure my wheelchair repair helper has never seen anyone put this many miles on their chair in all her years of fixing them.

That walk was exactly what I needed, a chance to reset, clear my head, and remind myself that in PR, as in life, keeping an organized mind and a strong attitude makes all the difference.

I’ve received constructive feedback throughout this internship, it’s part of the process. Instead of stressing over it, I’ve learned to lean in, slow down when necessary, ask questions, and focus on steady improvement. Mistakes aren’t failures, they’re opportunities to get better.

One of my favorite moments was going into the office on a quiet Friday. Almost no one else was around, which gave me the space to catch up on emails, tidy my documents, and finally get a few projects into a rhythm that felt good. It reminded me that progress doesn’t have to be loud or flashy, sometimes it’s just about showing up and doing the work.

I’m still learning and growing, balancing quality with speed. But I show up every day with more confidence and curiosity, grateful for the chance to learn from talented people who push me to be better.

That’s what bouncing back looks like to me, taking control, facing challenges head-on, and showing up ready to grow.