Yesterday was my intern, Malia’s, last day at the office, so, as I often do on special occasions, I went overboard. Way overboard.
Here’s what my kitchen looked on Tuesday night.
One intern departure = 24 ginormous cupcakes and pretty cinnamon rolls
I went into the store with intentions of making the ever-popular chocolate + applesauce cupcake couple that was such a big hit with the coworkers last time around. But then, the strawberry cake mix caught my eye, and I just couldn’t resist the idea of some pretty pink cupcakes.
So, I also whipped up a quick batch of strawberry + greek yogurt cupcakes.
Oh, AND, before I left, I just couldn’t resist the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls calling my name. I remembered that Holly had made her husband some of these for his birthday and topped one special birthday cinnamon roll with sprinkles. I thought everyone would enjoy that extra bit of sparkle on top of their breakfast, so I just HAD to bake the cinnamon rolls, too.
Cinnamon Rolls + Sprinkles = Genius; Everything's better with sprinkles, right Jillian??
Taking all of these goodies on the subway yesterday, was quite the endeavor. But Malia was worth it.
Kids These Days
When my office asked if anyone would be interested in running the intern program, I volunteered immediately! The idea of coaching someone just out of college and helping them through their first job in the real world was so exciting to me!
First order of business as intern coordinator? An ice cream party! Nothing's more welcoming than ice cream.
But, Malia didn’t need any help.
The girl was just on point from day one.
When Malia first started, I made sure to check in with her daily to ensure she wasn’t too overloaded (this happens all to often at pr firms) and tried to be available whenever she had questions. As the weeks went by, I checked in less and less, because I noticed she was doing just fine on her own. I also, of course, got busy on my own projects and didn’t see her as much as I would have liked.
We tried to catch up once every week over coffee though. As you know, this Sometimes Healthy Girl can always make a little extra time for that caffeine boost.
Over the past couple months, I’ve had the pleasure of watching her give a mock new business presentation in front of the whole agency, working with her on a client product launch and seeing her flawlessly execute countless random one-off requests and difficult projects.
In short, the girl is a rock star.
So, that’s why I just had to make yesterday a little special.
I put the baked goods right next to Malia’s cube and encouraged everyone to stop by to wish her good luck in her future endeavors.
Nothing but the best for the world's best intern.
And speaking of her future endeavors.
Did I mention the girl is also a Fulbright Scholar? Yep, she’s kind of a big deal. In just one short month, she’ll be headed to Sri Lanka for one year on a scholarship to teach English.
Posing with the treats and my special gift to Malia.
Although Malia is only 22, she’s already traveled the world and experienced so many cultures and living situations. I always felt that she is wise beyond her years. For her going away present, I decided to give her a journal to keep track of all of her adventures.
A special gift for a special girl.
I fell in love with the red leather and simple heart design of this particular journal. It gave it the old-school feel – blogs and online diaries are fun, but in the end, there’s nothing like the physical feel of a journal with your own handwritten thoughts. Inside, I wrote Malia a little note which included my favorite quote:
Wheresoever you go, go with all your HEART
I also gave her a magnet with my other life motto (as I’ve mentioned before, me and Michelle live our New York lives by this mantra): “Shoot for the moon and even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”
These days, I’ve been thinking that this little mantra could be adjusted to, “Shoot for the moon a million times, and eventually you’ll hit a star.” :-). It’s true – persistence will always get you somewhere, even if it’s not where you necessarily realized you should be. Deep thoughts, by Sometimes Healthy.
Anyway, sweet little Malia of course returned my gift with one of her very own and a Dr. Seuss thank you card!
Dunkin Donuts = Quickest Way to a Sometimes Healthy Heart
The girl got me a gift card to Dunkin Donuts. Any anyone that knows me well knows that there is no better gift for this Sometimes Healthy Girl than the gift of caffeine, in particular Dunkin Donuts’ delicious flavored coffee. On another note, I swear I taught Malia many wise things while she was here, but I’m pretty sure what she’ll remember me for most is introducing her to DD’s cinnamon flavored coffee.
When we said goodbye, I totally cried. What can I say? I’m a sappy girl, as you all know. I really wish Malia could stay with us permanently, but she’s gotta’ do more important things, like conquer the world.
My First Internship – A Sometimes Healthy Mess
I cannot help but be impressed by Malia’s poise and professionalism…especially when I reflect upon my first internship at a large PR firm back in Chicago.
I was nothing short of a HOT MESS for the first 6 weeks. I think I called my Sometimes Healthy Mother at least twice a week to lament about how hard it was and how, maybe I just wasn’t cut out for the real world or public relations. Poor mom. There were lots of mistakes, lots of tears and lots of binging on the free bagels we got every Friday.
I was a hot mess, Glee purple slushy style
As I mentioned in my last post, I usually utter the words “I’m so stressed,” about 10 times a day. Well, during this period of my life, I probably said it a good 20 or 30 times a day and it was often accompanied by extremely profane language. Sometimes Healthy, Always Classy 😉 Do you remember that Daniel Power song, “Had a Bad Day?” Well, I used to listen to that nearly every day on the walk home from work…yeah, dramatic I know.
Public relations is not always intuitive. Since I was a journalism major in college and had only previously worked at magazines, all I knew of public relations was that the people liked to call repeatedly to get me to write about their product. But, trust me, there’s a lot more to it.
Thus, it took me a while to catch on. But on the flip side, after 3 months, I settled into the internship and really felt like I got the hang of things. By the time I left the company for my first real job, I felt like a pro. Sure, those 6 weeks of being completely clueless and incompetent were a bit rough, but I learned a lot working my way through it all about both the industry and how to hack it at a pr firm.
Theme Song Thursday – Watch Me Shine
So, to all of you interns out there (or first job people), just remember, even if you’re not a rock star like Malia, eventually you’ll catch on. We all do. Even this Sometimes Healthy Girl did! One day, you’ll wake up, and everything will just “click.”
And, since it is Theme Song Thursday, here’s a little clip/song I used to watch whenever I felt I’d never be able to get the hang of things. It’s a song montage from Legally Blonde, which in my opinion is an extremely inspiring movie (I am not shy about admitting my affinity for drawing inspiration from hardcore chick flicks.). Yes, on the surface it seems like just another chick flick about a dumb blond. But look at how far Elle Woods came! If she can, so can you (granted, it’s a movie, but just go with it -I’m feeling cheesy). The song is called “Watch me Shine.”
Happy B-Day to my Hero
Now that you’re inspired, I’ve got to head out to dinner. Guess whose birthday it is????
It's a very special day, indeed.
Yep, it’s Sometimes Healthy Mom’s b-day AND she’s in town with my father. In case you are unaware of just how special this woman is please read my “Ode to a Sometimes Healthy Mother.”
The whole Sometimes Healthy clan, including Brother Bear and Julie, is getting together tonight at Fig & Olive to celebrate this monumental day and the woman who is always there to listen to us me complain about how “difficult” my life is, Fed-Exes flashlights at the first sign of a potential hurricane and never gives up on finding her daughter true love.
Indeed, I brought mom and dad up to the office today. Both were, of course a huge hit. But, things got a bit weird when my mother asked every man in the office if he was single or knew of a brother/cousin who might be looking. Oh, Sometimes Healthy Mom, you never give up!
Hangin' out with the rents and Anjelica in the office lobby.
Even though it was her birthday, they still brought cupcakes for everyone.
Bringing mini cupcakes to the office brought them instant popularity - they were gone in about 10 minutes 😉
Now you know why I love giving people cupcakes so much – I inherited it from my mother. Thanks Mom! And thanks for putting up with me over the years. You truly deserve a medal for that one.
Off to celebrate a very special lady!
Question:
What was your first internship? Did you have a hard time adjusting? Got any fun first job/internship stories?
All of the cupcakes in this post are seriously revving up my sweet tooth! 🙂
Your cupcakes ALWAYS rev up my sweet tooth. If only YOU could have baked cupcakes for my intern. She would have loved me foeva!
Awe how sweet of you to do all that!! It’s always nice to have someone that you can go to for support as a new employee. I am about to start my first nursing job and I hope that my preceptor is as sweet as you 🙂
Good luck to you! I hope you get all the support that you deserve. Nursing is such a noble and honorable profession. I hope everything goes well!
you are such a good intern boss! I bet she learned a ton from you 🙂 I actually never interned at a PR firm before I started working at one – which was probably a good thing, since I would have been skirrrred by all the craziness. It’s so much more cuthroat these days though – we would never hire someone without a lot of internship experience, etc.
Happy Bday to your mom!
I know – it’s so crazy! Yes, my first PR internship nearly did scare me away. Thank goodness for my mother who talked me through my little freak-outs 🙂 After a couple of months, I felt like a pro. Guess that’s why they say you should never give up!
I am in the wrong business! We don’t get nearly as many treats in the acting/ dancing world! You are the planet’s most awesome intern-liason!
I did an internship with Community Word Project as a teaching artist and was hired the next year. I ADORED it, and will hopefully continue teaching with them when I finish my graduate degree!
Happy Birfday to the Mahjah! Stuff your faces at Fig and Olive- have a few extra bites for me! 🙂
You can get cupcakes in your world! Just bake them yourself 🙂 Katie Holmes brings cupcakes to all of her movie sets haha. Community World Project sounds great and kudos to you for working at such a place!
Oh man, I am SO glad I read this post! I had a fashion internship in high school, but I am about to have my first big deal internship at a PR firm. I have NO Idea what I’m doing! Hopefully I’ll get the hang of it like you did. 🙂
You will do great! I have no idea what your firm will be like. Perhaps it will be like my current firm, which believes in being nurturing to our interns and making sure they’re constantly learning about the business. Perhaps it will be like my first PR internship which, while it was tough in the beginning, also taught me so much. Yes, they were tough on us. But, in the end, it didn’t matter. Once you get through the the hard times, it all just fits together. I’m sure you’ll do great. Good luck!
My first intern boss was just like you! She brought in a cake for my last day and was just awesome the whole time. I learned a lot from my intern days. I had a different internship every summer in undergrad plus 1 in grad school. I think I could be a professional intern 😉 but I actually just started my first post grad school job on Tuesday so maybe I’ll have some good stories for you soon.
I need to head over to your blog to read about this first job! Congrats to you!!
Happy Birthday sometimes healthy mom! Have fun with your parents and tell hem hi 🙂
On a side note, I do not miss the days of being an intern! It’s much better on the “other side”.
She said “Thanks Jamie!”
And I say, thank you for always reading. You’re the best friend a girl could ask for 😉
Hey there lady!!! How are you?? It was so great meeting you at the HLS and I hope we can stay in touch. Take care and happy Friday!
Thanks so much for reading!!! I need to head on over to check out your blog now!
I was an intern at a design firm while I was in college–and now I’m marrying my supervisor next month! ha ha.
Darn! Why didn’t my internship end up like that???? CONGRATS TO YOU! Can’t wait to read about the wedding beautiful bride-to-be.
Holy moly. You’re an incredible mentor! I can’t believe everything you did for her — I mean, I can believe it — but it’s just so far and beyond KIND. Um, do you want to mentor me? I really can’t get over how nice you made her last day. That was awesome!
Happy birthday to your mama!
Thanks Girl! And thanks for always reading 🙂
So sweet! Can you be my boss? 🙂 I’ll give you a Dunkin gift card, no problem.
Um – Can you be my boss??? I love reading about YOUR job 🙂
Thank you for baking the lovely cupcakes yesterday, I especially enjoyed the strawberry ones! Buttttt I had no idea your mom brought Baked by Melissa yesterday– gotta fill me in on these other-side-of-office treats. I hope you had a nice dinner with your fam, it was great to meet the parents yesterday!
Also, you were an incredible mentor for Malia and did an incredible job organizing and arranging the intern program. Yay, Jamie the rockstar!!!
I will always fill you on those other side treats! They seem to go so fast…esp. when I DON’T bake them. Uh. hahahaha
After a few internships when I was a college student, I know nothing really means more than a boss who takes a personal interest and puts in the effort to be a mentor, not just a manager. Knowing how conscientious and effective you are with everything you do, I am sure Malia won’t forget you!
AND HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SOMETIMES HEALTHY MOM!
Where would we be without her????
Where would I be without YOU?
Oh, wow Jamie! SO many things in the post made me happy! To name a few:
(1) Last night I almost made chocolate applesauce cookie/cupcake/somethings. I wish i had found your post on it before i decided to attempt chocolate cookies that turned into cupcakes. lol.
(2) Glee clip – I LOVE Glee and miss it terribly.
(3) Legally Blonde – my favorite movie. A bit cliche (I’m a blonde attorney), but I don’t care!
(4) Mini cupcakes. Amazing. You are such a sweet boss.
My first internship was with the New York State Assembly for the Speaker. I don’t have any funny stories, but it was an awesome experience. Each Assembly person had an intern, so at the end of the internship we all had a mock session where we played the roll of our assembly person and tried to pass laws. I got to play Speaker, which was pretty amazing/terrifying.
Oh wow! That does sound like a great internship. And please, whenever you want to mix weird things with cake mix, please stop over on my blog. I’ve got a whole lot of em’
the amount of cupcakes is this post is both amazing and ridiculous! You are so lucky to work in an office that you would want to share you sweet delicious treats with!
I am lucky 🙂 I would bake these amazing people cupcakes every day if a) they wouldn’t hate me for it after a while and b) it wasn’t such a pain to take em’ on the subway 🙂
First, Happy Birthday to your mom!! (yesterday) 🙂 I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating together
Second, umm wowza lovin these cupcakes, alllll of them! I usually sub in applesauce for my baked goods and they turn out perfect every time! I obviously like that they are healthier without sacrificing any flavor
Agreed – applesauce is a secret baking weapon 😉
Awww…so sweet! And glad I’m not the only one to go overboard on special occasions! You are so grown-up to already be in charge of an intern. 😉 I’m a teacher, and we don’t technically have internships, but there is the “practicum” component of teacher’s college….and one day when my associate teacher was away and I had a substitute, those kids were WILD…and they ran out before the last bell rang!
Kids will be kids. haha 😉
First of all- yum to all of your treats! Second of all- happy bday to your mom!! I’ve had a few internships but they weren’t really to prepare me for my job so I didn’t find them that hard. They were more just about getting experience in the world of health care.
Thanks for the bday wishes!
Aww you are such a sweetheart! What a great send off for your intern!
I haven’t had an internship yet, but that’s because I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up!
Happy birthday to Sometimes Healthy Mom!!!!
haha girl, sometimes I think I’m STILL trying to figure out what I wanna be when I grow up. I think it’s a 20’s thang
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