On June 29, State & Federal Communications’ Team Intern attended an Akron RubberDucks afternoon game at Canal Park.  Elizabeth Bartz, President and CEO of State & Federal Communications, extended the invitation to our parents or family members to accompany us.  It was really exciting to be able to meet the parents of team Intern and learn a little bit more about them.  Most of Team Intern brought at least one parent, and Elizabeth Bartz brought her husband, John Chames, as well as her parents and visiting sister and brother-in-law.

Seated in a suite, the air conditioning was very much appreciated by everyone.  Near the end of the game the team mascot, Webster the duck, came into our suite and we were able to take pictures with him.  The game itself almost went into extra innings, but the away team, Bowie Baysox, scored the winning run in the 9th inning.  Despite the loss, the game was a fun experience for all of us.  After the game ended Elizabeth Bartz took the opportunity to say goodbye to two of the interns, Elizabeth Scozzaro and Costa Janos, who were finishing their internship two days later.

Today is the last day Team Intern will be Team Intern. We say goodbye to Elizabeth Scozzaro and Costa Janos as they venture on to continue their college studies. Over the last two months, we have all grown incredibly close. Every day we met in the first floor kitchen and ate lunch together. We have attended and graduated from Intern Edge, a weekly meeting of Akron area interns to connect us with local leaders and help us to develop as leaders.

We were also able to volunteer at  the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s Good Samaritans, a monthly distribution of food to those in need in the local community. Sans Costa Janos, Team Intern also shoveled mulch at the United Way Day of Action at the Lake Anna YMCA.

Helping Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church prepare for their Grecian food festival in September, we prepared filling for numerous items, most of which involved rolling. We were also blessed with enjoying countless doughnuts and treats from Damascus Road, a local coffee shop throughout the summer provided by Joe May and Michael Beckett.

We bonded outside of work as well, meeting up at Akron RubberDucks games, the local double “A” affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, and enjoy a relaxing evening on Elizabeth Scozzaro’s aunt’s pontoon boat.

Some of Team Intern will be sticking around for a few more weeks. I finish up on the 19^th, David Trujillo on the 20th, Sophia Avouris on the 21^st, and David Jones back to his normal, year round internship here at State and Federal Communications.

Here is a little bit about each of us.

Elizabeth Scozzaro, a senior marketing and business administration major at Baldwin Wallace University. Also a member of the sorority, Alpha Phi, is best known for making us create a pyramid. Elizabeth Scozzaro spent the summer assisting on projects with Elizabeth Bartz.

Sophia Avouris, the youngest member of Team Intern. Just graduating from high school, Sophia is an incoming freshman to Kent State University and plans to study political science. Sophia worked under Joe May in the Social Media department conducting SEO (Search Engine Optimization) research and Lobby Comply blog posts.

Costa Janos, transferring this year from the University of Kentucky, he is now attending THE Ohio State University as a sophomore studying Finance with a minor in communications. Team Intern never was able to bond with Costa outside of work because of his intensive golf outings. Costa worked with the research department checking primary election dates and tracking legislation.

David Jones, the veteran of the group, studies network administration with Cisco at Stark State College. Has graduated twice from Intern Edge and has at some point helped each intern with an electronic device. David Jones works under Ken Kelewae in the IT department.

David Trujillo, who for a time left us to fulfill his commitment to the Ohio National Guard just rejoined us this past Monday. Trujillo is majoring in public relations and organizational communications with minors in Arabic and creative writing. Oh, and he is studying for the LSATs in September. *exhale* David Trujillo also worked with the research department throughout the summer.

I, Nikos Frazier, am a junior photojournalism major at Kent State University. Team Intern will never forgive me if I don’t add that I drink tea by the gallon and if I am not drinking tea, I am drinking coffee. I have worked under Joe May in the Social Media department researching SEO research, photographing and blogging events attended by State and Federal Communications and lately researching the 2016 presidential Candidates’ social media accounts and usage.

As we all part ways, we will always remember this summer. For most of us this is our first internship. State and Federal Communications has given us incredible opportunities. We have been able to perform numerous community outreach to help give back to Akron. Intern Edge stressed how great Akron is and how we, Millennials, need to comeback and create an even greater Akron. But even if we do not return to Akron, we know now the importance to give back to the community, create a network and help create something great.

So as I try to finish this post in a great way, I am at a loss of words. So I leave everyone with Korean Proverb I learned while visiting Seoul, South Korea this last March, “Aim high in your career, but stay humble in your heart.”

Goodbye Team Intern, and for once more, “Team Intern Unite!”