Olivia Diericks is a senior majoring in Political Science. She heard about the ATLAS Internship Program through department emails and newsletters. As a recent transfer student from a small liberal arts college in rural Illinois, her junior year at the University was exciting but sometimes overwhelming. She wanted to take part in the incredible experiential learning culture in Urbana-Champaign and found that her journey towards professional competency began with the ATLAS Internship Program. Having completed two semesters with ATLAS and the Community Service Center of Northern Champaign County, she has grown not only as a communications specialist but also as a team player and leader. The program gave her both the guidance she needed to transition into a professional environment and the freedom she craved to explore what work excites her most. Olivia is currently serving as a Lead Communications Intern for the Community Service Center of Northern Champaign County. Her responsibilities and projects of interest include designing promotional graphics for their Charity Golf Outing, creating a summer newsletter in collaboration with a fellow intern, and updating the organization's Events page using WordPress.
Through her internship, Olivia developed a myriad of technical skills, with the most important being her proficiency in Canva and basic knowledge of the WordPress interface. While she values the hard skills gained during her internship, she notes that the most valuable lessons she learned weren't quantifiable. By working with ATLAS coordinators and the Community Service Center staff, she was able to hone her professional communication practices and develop interpersonal leadership skills, both of which will prove essential in her future endeavors.
After graduating from Illinois, Olivia plans to pursue a master's degree in Library and Information Science and a career in library administration. A fun fact about Olivia is that her favorite food is movie theater popcorn with lots of butter!