By Dean’s Intern Emily Simonsen at CQ Roll…

By Dean’s Intern Emily Simonsen at CQ Roll Call

CQ’s Product Innovation Internship is a unique communications experience. In this role, students create, strategize, and implement new consultative services relating to Congress and advocacy.

My work includes self-directed research, like analyzing markets, competitors and potential clients. One such project entailed investigating point-of-contact individuals for a multiagency product. Another, similar assignment used research to brief my boss on market players.

The position’s also tapped my creative side. I explored and drafted name suggestions for an upcoming research service. One of the names I proposed was selected to represent this potential offering.

Beyond these duties, I’ve created collateral for the product innovation process (such as infographics), evaluated research data to decipher trends and presented conclusions through power point presentations.

Additionally, I attend multi-department gatherings and sit-in on potential client meetings to gain insight on the innovation process.

My proudest accomplishment to date is my research methodology project. Through this assignment, I created a structure for others to follow when conducting market research. This framework allows the Innovation team to pinpoint and streamline our research.

CQ has empowered my professional and personal growth by teaching me the value of hard work, time management, and prioritization through allowing me to undertake and accomplish various tasks.

As CQ continues to align with the Dean’s Internship Program, I have no doubt students will benefit from the varied experience.