The one thing that seems to surprise people the most about me, is when I tell them I have never had an internship.

It’s true.

I’ve been in college nearly five years and I have not had an internship; that’s not to say that my resumé doesn’t rival students who have had internships or that I haven’t been offered internships.

My collegiate journey has certainly been a unique one; three colleges in the last four years my record looks like this: School A, School B, Back to School A, Back to School B to get A.A., transfer to School C, graduate.

See, unique.

How do I make myself marketable, when I can’t even manage to stay in one place for more than a year at a time? Easy, student organizations and a little bit of luck.

Before PR, I was a journalism student and I got to the opportunity to be an apprentice at the Detroit Free Press a month after high school graduation. Got to School A and began working on their student newspaper my freshman year. I also was involved with an event planning organization, did volunteer work and got memberships to SPJ and NABJ.

I started my blog around the time I switched to School B and when I returned to School A, I not only continued with my blog and returned to my previous involvements, but I was given the opportunity to freelance for Real Detroit Weekly because of my blog.

All of that has led to other writing and blogging opportunities that I have been pretty grateful to have had. I learned early, nothing is handed to you, you have to work to get whatever you want; and if you don’t find what you want out there, it’s perfectly fine to create your own opportunities.

Nothing is like it was 10 years ago; it’s so easy to create an opportunity for yourself.

• Can’t land a writing internship? Start a blog.
• Can’t find a film internship? Grab a Flip cam, iMovie and start a Vimeo account
• Can’t find a broadcast journalism internship? Create your own YouTube or uStream show.
• Can’t find a PR internship? Join your school’s concert/event org or get together with a local bar and help promote their events.

There are too many outlets out there for people to remain stagnant during their college years.

I used to be worried about graduating without an internship, but a few blogs and 100+ bylines later, it’s the least of my worries.

About two years ago, when I was still a journalism major, I took a class that required the students to make a 1:30 - 2:00 minute news video for web.

At the time, Mt. Pleasant residents, especially the local cyclists, were voicing their concerns about the Mt. Pleasant City Commission’s plan to reconstruct one of the city’s busiest streets.

I spoke to Allison Quast, manager and owner of Motorless Motion in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., she talks about why bike lanes will be safer option for Mt. Pleasant’s cyclists.

This is the first video I have ever edited using Final Cut Pro.

Video Bloggin’ in my Snuggie

I’ve been wanting to start an online portfolio for the longest but I felt like that was way too cookie-cutter for my personality.

Then I considered starting a blog, but I wanted something I could do on the go and would be easily customizable.

I considered Tumblr for a while and finally decided on it after stalking reading DKNY’s PR Girl (aka Aliza Licht) Tumblr and seeing how she does it so well, pretty much gave me the greenlight for following through with making a “professional” blog on a typically not-so-professional site.

Who am I?

Simple.

I’m Alex Washington a:

• public relations senior at Wayne State University
• freelance journalist
• blogger
• social media addict
• hip-hop fiend
• Detroit lover
• social media director for Wayne State University’s PRSSA chapter
• Google master
• #TeamBlackBerry player 
• a girl.

This blog is my portfolio and my musings as a communication hybrid.

Enjoy.