Luther alumna Julia Curtis interns at Henkel Corp. in Germany

Luther College alumna Julia Curtis, class of 2017, spent the summer as a communications intern at Henkel, Corp. in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Curtis, daughter of Roberta and Bill Curtis of St. Louis, Missouri, is a 2013 graduate of Parkway West High School. She graduated from Luther in 2017 with communication studies and German majors.

As an intern with Internal Corporate Communications at Henkel, Corp., Curtis worked on content creation and management on various internal media channels including the company’s intranet, Yammer social media, print magazine and eMagazine. As her culminating project, Curtis planned, organized and promoted the 142nd anniversary of Henkel. She also activated Henkel websites in the regions of North America, South America, India, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe.

Immersed in her internship experience, Curtis learned “the importance of hard work, determination and having an open mind, especially when faced with new challenges.” Even though the experience was completely new to her, she shared that “Once I adjusted to the work environment at Henkel and had more responsibilities, it was easier to see that my desire to learn about the company and its employees is an admirable and necessary trait for success.”

The internship provided clarity into the type of career Curtis would like to have. It also gave her experience with the different facets of corporate communications at a global headquarters. She enjoyed the opportunity to interact with a variety of people in and outside the company. Curtis appreciated that “Internal Communications acts as a way to not only inform employees, but also to unite them. We write news for the company, make videos, host events, play games and share ideas and plans with others,” she said. As an intern, Curtis discovered “how important it is to continue to learn and continue to develop new skills to keep up with the changing trends in the field of communications.”

Approximately 10 percent of Luther students take an internship for academic credit each academic year. The Luther College Career Center assists students with their internship search through resume preparation, networking, online internship searches, career fairs, on-campus interviewing and connecting the student to alumni through the college’s Alumni Internship Program. Students also meet with a faculty adviser prior to the internship to create an internship learning plan that includes learning goals and assessment benchmarks.

An internship work supervisor assists in the process by writing an evaluation of the student at the end of the internship. Students also complete a self-reflection form to help finalize the learning experience.

A national liberal arts college with an enrollment of 2,005, Luther offers an academic curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree in more than 60 majors and pre-professional programs. For more information about Luther visit the college’s website: http://www.luther.edu.