Summer break is a great time to catch up on much-needed relaxation between semesters, but it’s also the perfect opportunity to focus on personal and professional growth. For many graduate students, the break between classes means discovering ways to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to real-world settings. Whether that means exploring new interests, gaining hands-on experience through an internship, or even traveling out of the country, Emerson’s graduate students do it all. To hear more about the diverse experiences our graduate students participated in last summer, we sat down with current student Leah Brennsteiner and Emerson alum Jillian Recko.
Meet Leah: Originally from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Leah Brennsteiner (she/her) is in Emerson’s Publishing and Writing MA program, set to graduate in May 2026.
Meet Jillian: Jillian Recko (she/her) graduated from the Strategic Marketing Communications MA program (now Strategic Marketing) in August 2025, and lives in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Can you briefly describe what you did this summer and how you got involved with the opportunity?
Leah: I had an internship with an online publishing company, Sunbury Press. I was brought on as an editorial intern, and am finishing up my projects with them now. One of my friends in the Emerson Publishing and Writing MA program works there, and I’m super grateful to her for helping me get an internship with them!
Jillian: I had the opportunity to pilot an SMC (Strategic Marketing Communications) [study] abroad program in Wiesbaden, Germany! The program was a week in Wiesbaden, where students from schools from Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, the US, and Germany listened in on lectures about various marketing topics and then worked directly with a client to provide a solution to a problem that they were facing.
Can you share what a “day in the life” may have looked like for you here?
Leah: A day in the life would be spending an hour on my computer editing, emailing, and planning, and then taking a little break, and coming back to the computer for another hour. I tried to spend at least three hours a day doing editorial work.
Jill: On Day 1, we had the opportunity to visit the Seibert Group, a client we were working with, to meet their team and discuss what they needed assistance with. They asked us to essentially build a marketing strategy to drive people who worked at the senior management level to their job application sites. Throughout the week, we would eat breakfast with all of the students and then take a bus to the Hochschule RheinMain campus. [Here,] we would either sit in on lectures from professors from various universities that were in attendance, or work on our group projects. The school provided us with lunch, and after eating, we would typically work on our group projects on campus or back at the hotel.
We were also able to sightsee around the city, and even spent a day touring Strasbourg, France, and visited the European Parliament. At the end of the week, we presented to the professors and the team at Seibert and received feedback on our presentations. My group was recognized as the most inspiring and helpful presentation by the instructors and client, which made the experience even more exciting.
What skills did you gain or strengthen during the experience that can connect to your future career goals?
Leah: I have learned a lot of skills through the internship. I feel like the biggest one has been assertiveness. It’s a bit hard to contact the CEO because he’s very busy, but I’ve gotten more comfortable making sure my emails are received and replied to. Also, my comfortability talking with authors has increased, and I feel very confident doing intake meetings, which was something I was a bit nervous about coming into the industry. My future career goal is to become a managing editor at some point, and this internship has allowed me to juggle multiple projects at once and really solidify my time-management skills.
Jillian: [How to] work with students from different educational and cultural backgrounds was the biggest lesson we learned throughout the experience. [These skills are helpful] not only in a school setting, but also for real-world success when working on international teams.
The actual client experience was also impactful because we had an opportunity to see an office environment and work directly with clients facing real problems. And, although it can be intimidating, receiving feedback after presenting to a client was super useful and insightful, [ultimately helping us] work together toward their goals!
Are you bringing anything from your summer experience into your classes this fall?
Leah: I think so (I hope so!). I think the biggest thing was working on time management, which has been helping me a lot with my school schedule, as well as my internship one.
Jillian: Unfortunately, no—since I am a graduate! But I will certainly take the experience with me into my career. I have been working on a global marketing team for the last 4 years, and this experience alone gave me tactics that I brought back to the US that will help me be a better teammate on a regular basis at work.
What advice would you give other Emerson grad students who want to pursue similar opportunities?
Leah: I would say that assertiveness can get you anywhere you’d like to go. I was really hesitant to lead discussions with people who are higher-up in the company, but [know that] your opinion matters and you know a lot about the industry (because of Emerson classes or in general), so trust that.
Jillian: SAY YES!! These experiences are once in a lifetime, and not only do you learn critical skills for your career, but you meet people and build friendships across the world that will last a lifetime.
Whether you’re a current or prospective student, or even an Emerson alum, making the most of a productive summer is a great way to set yourself up for success in the fall. But gaining hands-on experience and trying new things doesn’t have to stop in September! Reach out to someone in Emerson’s Career Development Center to learn other ways you can continue using your coursework and outside experiences to advance your career.
Leave a Reply