My time at MDC has been one of learning and growth for me as an individual and as a member of the Knoxville community. I have come to value being informed about how our community is being impacted by the actions our state and federal government is taking against the disease of addiction. I truly believe that my semester at MDC has made me a more engaged member of the community.
As an intern, I worked on a multitude of unique projects and have really enjoyed working within the non-profit sector. My tasks ranged from social media planning, weekly blogs, exploring the field of public relations and even pitching a story to a local news channel about addiction. These different projects really stretched me to see different aspects of a public relation practitioner’s job. Besides all of the amazing people I have met in and out of the office, I enjoyed being able to see the organizations and groups MDC interacts within the community. Visiting news stations, the FBI Knoxville headquarters and coordinating with other groups made it evident how interconnected our lives truly are. Making connections with people in every part of our community was something that I saw as a huge asset in the professional world. These connections allowed MDC to not only get more information into the community but also make events and projects grow to an entirely new size.
Ranging from media campaigns to events like our annual 5K or East Tennessee Opioid Conference, I truly have seen how capable the team at Metro Drug Coalition is. This staff believes in what they do and are working to see Knoxville grow into the best community it can be, away from the disease of addiction. I have enjoyed learning about how to facilitate relationships, events and an overview of the PR field.
I cannot wait to see how MDC will impact the community in the future and how it will continue to grow as a resource for Knoxville.