About the Pearce Interns

Business and industry leaders place a premium on writing and communication skills. The state of South Carolina offers a generous supplement to the Life Scholarship for students majoring in math, science or engineering. The Pearce Scholars Program aims to match that supplement for students working in the fields of writing and communication.

The variety of opportunities within the Pearce Scholars Program also allows for students to pursue objectives most valuable to their educations and future careers. Whether through working as a Pearce Center Intern, a Writing Fellow or a member of the Client Based Program, the Pearce Scholars Intern Program benefits an incredible number of students on Clemson’s campus.

Become an Intern

Interested in applying to become a Pearce Intern? Applications are accepted twice per academic year near the end of each semester. Keep an eye on our socials for more information!

Apply to be an Intern

Meet the Fall 2023 Pearce Interns

Ashtyn Goff

Ashtyn Goff

English

ChadleyGray

Chadley Gray Schmidt

Graphic Communications

Christina

Christina Arshansky

Marketing

Delaney

Delaney Swaim

Communication

EmilyScott

Emily Scott

Marketing

Joselyn Hernandez

Joselyn Hernandez

Language and International Business

KathrynAtkinson

Kathryn Atkinson

Marketing

Kylie Snyder

Kylie Snyder

Marketing

Lizzie Farrell

Lizzie Farrell

English

Malaysia headshot

Malaysia Barr

Communication

Mary Provot

Mary Provost

Communication

McKenna Miller Headshot

McKenna Miller

Marketing

Olivia Almeida

Olivia Almeida

English

Pravi Bomrah

Pravi Bomrah

English

Sierra

Sierra Wilson

English

Summer Wrenn

Summer Wrenn

Communication

Taleah Holt

Taleah Holt

Management

Work Samples

Example of work sample created by interns entitled Pearce Center Interns’ Favorite Summer Reads.
Example of work sample created by interns entitled Famous Hispanic and Latinx Authors.
Example of work sample created by interns for First Baptist Church’s Faith Works series
Example of work sample created by interns for First Baptist Church’s Faith Works series
Example of work sample created by interns for Habitat for Humanity
Example of work sample created by interns for Habitat for Humanity
Example of work sample created by interns for Habitat for Humanity

Pearce Intern Reflections

Lawton Branham (2022-2023)

I became a Pearce Intern in Spring 2022, and throughout the past three semesters, I have
learned many professional skills and made lasting connections with my mentors and peers.

As a communication major here at Clemson, I wanted to take the knowledge I was learning
in the classroom and apply it to real-world situations. After following the Pearce Center on social media and doing some research, I decided to apply, and my experience has not disappointed me in the slightest. I can remember how nervous I was just sitting in on my first client meeting during my first semester, and now I have been a team lead on multiple different projects and lead countless meetings with Pearce Center clients. I have a newfound confidence when it comes to working in a professional environment thanks to this experience.

Throughout my internship, I have worked on many client projects, and each one has required different skills from me. I have been able to improve my writing and social media skills through working on projects like Tiger Tales, which I have led for the past two semesters, and also through Main Street Walhalla, which I had the opportunity to lead and work on. I have been pushed out of my comfort zone while learning new Adobe programs and videography skills working with the College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities. I also gained experience in event planning through planning a book publishing party for the second graders at Central Academy of the Arts. Each and every project I have taken on here at the Pearce Center has taught me new skills that I will use in my future career.

Working alongside other student interns at the Pearce Center has allowed me to learn how to communicate effectively and professionally with my peers. Everyone I have worked with has been nothing but positive and excited about the projects at hand. Teamwork is so important here at the Pearce Center, and learning how to work with others to create real-world
deliverables is crucial for getting the job done. Leadership is something else that I have had the opportunity to work on. I have taken the lead and responsibly on client projects and learned to delegate tasks while also taking responsibility for due dates and deliverables.

Overall, I cannot speak more highly of my time here at the Pearce Center for Professional Communication. My time as an intern has truly shaped my Clemson experience, and I will be forever grateful to my mentors and peers for teaching me so much. 

Emily Rose Campbell (2022-2023)

Emily Campbell smiles at the camera and poses in front of a blue wall.When I changed my major to English with a minor in media studies, I felt like I had finally found a place for myself and had figured out what I wanted to pursue, and my two semesters with the Pearce Center have thoroughly solidified and encouraged that feeling.

Before my internship with the Pearce Center, I would have never imagined myself as a team lead coordinating a campus organization’s magazine. I was nervous and anxious about the idea of being a leader, but with my amazing mentors Allison Daniel and Ashley Fisk, I was able to take on my first leadership role and gain invaluable experience that undoubtedly improved my confidence and communication skills. As a Pearce Intern, I have had the opportunity to flourish as a writer and journalist and to work with other passionate and intelligent individuals on our project teams. The connectivity and collaboration between other interns has been such a significant, fulfilling experience, and the type of teamwork I have had the pleasure of being a part of in the Pearce Center is exactly what I hope to find in the workforce once I graduate.

Olivia Almeida (2022-2023)

Olivia Almeida smiles and poses in front of a blue background.I am filled with excitement when I reflect on my last two semesters with the Pearce Center. I have learned so many things, not only about resume skills but also about myself. The internship with the Pearce Center has taught me many things, but to me, the most important thing I learned was figuring out what I like and dislike. I came to the Pearce Center intending to absorb everything, and as I finish my second semester, I am leaving with friends, experiences and skills that only this type of experience can expose me to. For the last few semesters, I have worked on a multitude of different client projects, including Emerson Rose Heart Foundation, Central Academy of the Arts, the Pickens County Humane Society and the UPIC magazine. Working on a few projects at once was overwhelming at one point. Still now, as I reflect, a little collaboration and communication go a long way to taking something from being intimidating to obtainable. I am so thankful for everything the Pearce Center has taught me, and I look forward to seeing what excitement the next few semesters will bring.

Pearce Intern Skill Review

The Pearce Intern program strives to equip our undergraduate interns with skills they will need in their academic and professional lives. These skills range from learning how to write professional emails to design-based skills in industry-standard software. Take a look below at the skills the 2022-2023 Pearce Interns felt most confident in after their internship experience.

Intern Project Summaries

The Pearce Center interns work with a variety of clients, both on and off campus, to produce communication deliverables ranging from flyers and graphics to social media audits. Read more about some of their projects below!

Tiger Tales webpage

Tiger Tales is a project that focuses on telling the stories of interesting people, businesses and clubs within the Clemson community. Each Pearce Intern was responsible for interviewing and telling the story of a person of their choosing in the Clemson area. In Fall 2022, Tiger Tales posted 13 stories on the Instagram page (@cutigertales) and 16 stories in Spring 2023. Many interns chose Clemson University students who are doing great things, shedding light on all the amazing things happening on campus. Giving every intern an opportunity to write a story for Tiger Tales allowed for the most variety of pieces the project has had. To wrap up the Fall semester, the project team highlighted everyone who wrote a piece through an Instagram Reel called “The Students Behind the Stories” where everyone described their experience on the project in one word.

Main Street Walhalla logo including Main Street to the Mountains text

Main Street Walhalla is a project that partners with the Main Street program in Walhalla, South Carolina. Main Street programs focus on the revitalization of small towns all over the country and have significantly helped Walhalla grow in the past few years. In Fall 2022, a team of three interns worked together to tell the stories of some small businesses in the area. The interns worked alongside the Main Street program director, taking numerous trips to the small town to meet with local businesses and gain an appreciation for Walhalla. The interns were responsible for reaching out to a few of the local businesses, setting up an interview time and then writing the business owner’s personal story. These stories allow community members to make connections with the owners in their small town, increasing the sense of community. In Spring 2023, interns also helped create a monthly newsletter for the organization to share with its members and attended several community events.

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In the 2022-2023 academic year, Pearce Interns helped the three second-grade classes at Central Academy of the Arts publish a book. Each class wrote about their favorite animals, and all students wrote a short story about the topic and drew a picture to go along with their story. Interns visited each class three times to assist the students in the writing process. Interns then compiled the stories and pictures and made them into a physical book using Adobe InDesign. Following the completion of the book, the interns at the Pearce Center also hosted a launch party for the second-grade students to celebrate the first-time authors. The goal of this project is to promote summer literacy by making the students excited to read over their vacation.

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In the Habitat for Humanity project, interns worked directly with a client from the Habitat for Humanity Pickens County and focused on storytelling and recovering the organization’s online and social media presence. Team members met weekly with the client to establish and manage attainable deadlines for deliverables. Interns attended and/or volunteered at major off-site events hosted by the organization, such as the annual Homecoming build on Bowman Field, local partnership builds and family home dedications. Interns focused on conducting interviews with the organizations’ key figures and volunteers, writing and editing stories for their monthly newsletter and developing digital graphics for various media, including Instagram, Facebook and e-blasts.

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Emerson Rose Heart Foundation works to increase awareness of congenital heart defects and support families with children affected by CHD. The Pearce Interns worked with the executive director and communications director to help manage social media, create promotional materials for events and create a seasonal newsletter for beneficiaries and donors. In Fall 2022, interns created content calendars aimed to achieve the organization’s goals of reaching more CHD families. The end of the fundraising campaign focused on reaching supporters to hit a $50,000 target, which was exceeded during the campaign. The intern team created more than 55 social media posts across three platforms over the course of the semester. Emerson Rose hosted connect events and a golf tournament in the fall, which interns attended to help plan and run the events. Their social media efforts continued into the Spring semester and included assisting the organization with their large Heart Month campaign in February.

Clemson UPIC icon featuring a Clemson paw

For the Fall 2022 semester, interns on the UPIC project team worked on the creation of the yearly UPIC magazine. The interns met with the client at the beginning of the semester to discuss expectations. The client sent a list of potential UPIC mentors, interns and story ideas that the interns used to collect information and schedule interviews. The interns conducted the interviews with the main goal of telling the story of the individual’s experience as a UPIC intern or mentor. The interns also covered events that could be relevant to UPIC, like the Student Wellbeing Panel. The design lead intern used InDesign to create page designs for the magazine pages and created multiple drafts for the title page as requested by the client. In Spring 2023, the design team worked with the UPIC staff to complete the layout of the magazine and prepare it for publication.

BRIEF founder Mac Devine works with a child during their Explore Robotics class. (1)

For the 2022-2023 academic year, the interns were tasked with raising awareness for BRIEF, a newly-founded nonprofit organization that provides children living in poverty in the Upstate with technology skills. The campaign’s goal was to increase brand awareness to boost donations in the future. To create more attention, the interns created graphics to post on multiple social media platforms, ranging from volunteer spotlights to stories of the students. Some of the interns’ posts led to direct donations! Interns also helped the organization start a monthly newsletter to send to potential donors. Additionally, the interns created donation packets for BRIEF to distribute and better showcase the direct impact of donations. Throughout the campaign, the interns increased the number of accounts reached by 210 percent and increased BRIEF’s familiarity in the region.

Pearce Center logo

Pearce Interns work alongside Visual Information Design interns to maintain the Pearce Center’s social media accounts. In the Fall and Spring semesters, interns created a posting schedule, brainstormed content, designed posts and created specific style guidelines to make the feed feel cohesive. Content included intern features, project spotlights and general informational posts about the Pearce Center and related events. This group of interns also helped advertise the internship in order to recruit new interns for future semesters. The team enjoyed the creative freedom of the project and learned valuable skills related to digital marketing and brand guidelines.

Clemson English Unbound logo with the effect of a turning page

English Unbound is the newsletter for the Department of English at Clemson University. The editors collaborated to brainstorm ideas for articles and graphics related to the department. They primarily wrote articles to spotlight interesting students and faculty within the department. Over the course of both semesters, the English Unbound team interviewed and wrote articles about professors, administrators, graduate students and student organizations to highlight their projects and accomplishments. In addition to publishing articles, English Unbound also designed graphics to add useful and fun visual elements. These graphics included departmental course descriptions for the upcoming semester, helpful tips from students, seasonal reading recommendations and author spotlights. Interns published five issues of English Unbound during the 2022-2023 year.

Intern Publications

Pearce Interns work on several campus and community publications such as the UPIC Magazine, English Unbound and Habitat for Humanity’s newsletter. Interns write, edit, design and help print/publish several of these publications.

UPIC Magazine

Pearce Interns publish the UPIC magazine, which highlights the on-campus internship program at Clemson University. Interns gain valuable writing and editing skills. In 2023, they interviewed several mentors and mentees and are excited this program gets to continue.

The Pearce Interns designed the cover of the Summer 2023 UPIC magazine to reflect a new chapter of UPIC on campus while honoring its decade-long history. (1)

Pearce Center Annual Report

The Annual Report documents all the programs, projects and events the Pearce Center has participated in for that academic year. Pearce Interns work to write and edit the report, and beginning in 2020-2021, the VID Interns took over the design of the report.

Cover of 2021-2022 Annual Report featuring a purple overlay over a picture of students walking on campus.

School Book Project

To encourage young students to read, the Pearce Interns help elementary classes write and publish their very own book. The interns work with students to help write and illustrate a story before assembling the book and giving it to the students at a celebration.

The cover of the 2022-2023 school book features illustrations of some of the students' favorite animals.

Tigra Scientifica

Pearce Interns work with Dr. Lesly Temesvari to help create new layout designs for Tigra Scientifica, a journal written by Clemson undergraduate students to help communicate new scientific research to a general audience. Interns are also working on creating the first print version of the journal in several years.

Article featured in Tigra Scientifica Fall 2020 issue

Tiger Tales

Tiger Tales is a brand new project started by the Pearce Center that aims to spread positivity around the Clemson community through highlighting community members, projects and initiatives. Interns interview the subjects and share their stories on social media in order to bring awareness to these unique, heartwarming tales.

Tiger Tales webpage