Department of Communication Internship Program University of Maryland LEARNING AGREEMENT for COMM386 Students name: Cheryl Lyons Address:

7205 Rhode Island Ave, College Park, Md., 21045 Phone number: (443) 987-2990 e-mail: Cheryllyons22@gmal.com Worksite supervisor's name and title: Anna West, Public Relations Manager, and Pepper Van Tassell, Public Relations Manager Organization name: The Humane Society of the United States Address: 700 Professional Drive, Gaithersburg, Md., 20879 Phone number: (301) 258- 1518 or 301-258-1417 e-mail: awest@humanesociety.org or pvantassell@humanesociety.org Fax: N/A Academic Instructor's name and title: Julie S. Gowin, Outreach Coordinator Address: Department of Communication, R2130 Skinner Bldg., College Park, MD 20742 Phone number: (301) 405-7323 e-mail: gowin@umd.edu Fax: (301) 314-9471 Descriptive Title of Internship Position: Public Relations Intern Job description including general duties to be undertaken as part of the internship: Interns have the opportunity to gain real-world experience in public relations and skills that can be applied in the field, and gain a deeper understanding of the mission and major campaigns of The HSUS. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, tracking media coverage; creating media distribution lists; helping to organize media events; and helping to draft and distribute media advisories, news releases, and other materials.

The students work should meet this description, the student should receive adequate
supervision, the student should have a safe place to work, and the student should have the opportunity to fulfill learning requirements. The student should provide diligent performance of work, safeguard the interests of the organization, and share information that may impact the students ability to do the job including the level of internship course for which the student has registered. Description of compensation including amount, how and when paid and treatment of taxes, as well as, facilities, and supervision to be provided by the worksite organization to the student: This is a non paid internship being done for credit only Units of credit to be earned: 3 (require a minimum of 45 hours of work per credit) Time frame of internship:

Start date: 8/13/2012 End date: 12/14/2012 Weekly schedule: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1pm-5pm Grading Intern: The student should follow the syllabus provided by the instructor. Supervisor: The supervisor should write an evaluation of the student and send it to the instructor by semesters end. It should be signed and on company letterhead. This letter should verify the number hours the student has worked and give a descriptive evaluation of the quality of work provided by the student during the internship. A copy of the evaluation should be provided to the student. Please note that students will be allowed to view the evaluation. Instructors access to evaluate the student Early in the internship the student should coordinate and the organization should welcome an onsite visit at the worksite for the instructor. The onsite visit should include a tour of the facility and the students workspace, and an opportunity to meet and talk briefly with the supervisor. Student Interns Goals and Objectives (including project plan) Goal: I want to gain knowledge on how a nonprofit organization grabs the media as well as its target audiences attention. By the end of the internship I would like to have a clear concept on the techniques used by the HSUS to promote the organizations work and accomplishments. Objective: Each week I will focus on the most recent campaigns and the public relations departments role in promoting them. I will follow the organization in the news and have an understanding on how the public reacts to the different stories. Objective: By the end of the first month I would like to have experience in pitching media inquiries to the media and being responsible for gaining news coverage on different stories. I will use Vocus Software to find contacts that will be interested in the story. Goal: I want to gain experience in writing and editing press releases for the HSUS. Towards the end of the internship I hope to have an active role in writing and publishing press releases on a weekly basis. Objective: After two weeks I hope to have written my first press release and receive feedback on how to improve my writing skills to meet the HSUS criteria. Objective: By the end of the internship I hope to have at least five pieces of work of mine published. Project plan: I will have a long term research project that will focus on how the HSUS can effectively use the news coverage on the organization. For this I will create an internal survey that will collect information on how different departments can use the news which mentions the HSUS. In addition I will research bloggers who are sympathetic to the HSUS and their causes and compile a list to be used in the future when contacting media. Weather emergency plan and absenteeism policy In the event of inclement weather and/or hazardous traffic condition, please call (866) 503-4065 to hear if and how its affecting the office. This phone line provides voice mail
information about a weather or traffic condition if there appears to be a problem. The intern is responsible for committing at least 10 hours a week for a minimum of 12 weeks. If absent the intern is responsible for making up hours. A minimum of 120 hours need to be completed at the end of the internship.