If a tourism-based job could be in your future, an internship at the Tourism Department’s New York-based public relations company, Development Counsellors International, would look good on your resume.
The position is completive, and the department will accept applications until July 19 for the fall internship that runs September to November.
According to a department press release, qualified candidates will be Virgin Islands residents who are recent graduates of (or in their final year of study at) an accredited undergraduate or graduate university program with a major in marketing, mass communications or public relations. He or she will possess sound written and verbal communication skills, exceptional organizational skills and have an eye for detail.
Strong candidates will have a proven ability to adapt to new conditions, assignments and deadlines as they arise, and generally exude a positive, "go-getter" attitude, the release suggested. They will also be able to illustrate their deep knowledge of and passion for the territory’s culture and heritage.
The chosen candidate will receive round-trip airfare to New York with a monthly stipend to cover housing, transportation and other living expenses.
The fall intern will work with the territory’s account team at DCI’s New York office full time throughout the internship. Working hours are expected to be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Additional work hours may be required some evenings and weekends, the release indicated.
Daily tasks will include, but will not be limited to, media pitching, assisting with event planning, drafting and editing client documents, liaising with the Tourism Department’s on-island tourism partners, conducting travel industry and consumer behavior research, and developing content for the Tourism Department’s social media channels.
The New York-based internship opportunity with DCI is an extension of the program that seeks to provide university-level students with an interest and background in communications and marketing with the opportunity to develop the skills and experience necessary to promote the territory internationally.
In its announcement about the fall internship opportunity, Tourism indicted that St. Thomas resident Diandra Capdeville is the summer intern. She is sophomore public relations major at Rider University in New Jersey.
Additionally the department’s summer internship program provides students in the territory with hands-on experience in the tourism industry and allows them to explore career opportunities locally within the department.
This summer Tourism hired 13 high school interns – seven working out of the St. Croix office and six based in St. Thomas.
Intern applicants may e-mail their resume and cover letter to Irving Clara, senior account executive at DCI, at irving.clara@aboutdci.com. For more information about the internship program, contact Allegra Kean-Moorehead at akmoorehead@usvitourism.vi.
