This variety is precisely what I had in mind when I signed on with Janice in January.

The most valuable of the various experiences I’ve had as a Beetle Press intern would have to be the one-on-one, hands-on experience in offering design assistance to Habitat for Humanity. This, to me, was vital to bringing my entire college career as well as my own personal experiences full circle.

To be able to work with Habitat, an organization that means so much to me, has been priceless. With Habitat, I was immersed in design work that ranged from updating invitations and lawn signs for the FEAST event to creating this year’s annual report, based on an existing template.

But everything I was assigned during this internship had value.

Another project that interested me a great deal was reading and offering my feedback on Janice’s fictional love story, entitled Unleashing the Sun. I came into the internship with an experience in the publishing industry, and working with Janice’s manuscript helped me to know just how much I love the editing process. Gaining knowledge in this realm will help me as I move forward.

I absolutely feel that I am that much more equipped to pursue a career in my chosen field now that I have held this internship. I am over the moon with the fact that this final semester at Westfield State University was spent on my ever-growing passion of writing, editing and designing. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to close out my college career.

Janice has been gracious and a true guide into the professional world I’m interested in. She is thoughtful, insightful and passionate in her direction.

The post Well-rounded Portfolio appeared first on Beetle Press.

My baby toys were tossed into Salvation Army bins and the rest went up in flames in the biggest bonfire my backyard had ever seen. I spent the next seven months living in a trailer with no running water, which forced me to take a semester off from school so I could take on the four jobs that would allow me to find a new stable and reliable place to call home.

Now, a full two years since I lost everything, it only makes sense that my first assignment for Janice and Beetle Press was to design various projects for Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity, a local organization that builds stable and reliable homes for those in need. It was an assignment that was meant to be.

When I began my internship in January, in the last semester of my senior year at Westfield State University, Janice connected me with Amy Landry, director of resource development with the Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity. I felt the purpose of my personal and professional lives had joined together.

In the few months I have worked with Amy, I have assisted in the design of Habitat’s annual report, edited and laid out a newsletter, and refreshed the old design of invitations for the organization’s FEAST for Humanity fundraising event coming up April 27, as well as lawn signs and posters in order to spread the word about it.

Beetle Press uses storytelling and design to help raise awareness for the organizations it supports. In this case, Beetle Press forwarded the organization’s mission and offered me experience simultaneously. This, even though Janice was unaware of my story of homelessness or the ways this assignment would touch me personally.

In my work for Habitat for Humanity, I have come to know women who have taken charge of their own living situations and have East Street in Easthampton to call home now. They are Aleta and Angelique, and I have deeply enjoyed connecting with them.

Angelique is a single mother of three who has devoted herself to providing a safe and loving home for her children. “I remember being so stressed out, yet I still kept it together for them,” she told me.

Aleta is raising her grandson and had to move from a South Hadley apartment that was causing health issues. “It’s safe. It’s practical. It’s in a beautiful location, and nature is so important to me,” she says of her new Habitat home.

Angelique and Aleta’s Habitat home is eco-friendly, affordable and most importantly, built with 250 hours of their own “sweat equity,” as Habitat for Humanity calls it. Another amazing feat about East Street is the fact that a majority of the volunteers on this build were women.

I keep Angelique and Aleta—and all the others who benefit from Habitat’s work—in mind as I complete the program for the FEAST event. I’m humbled that my design work via Beetle Press is benefitting a great cause and an organization that is so meaningful to me.

The post An Assignment that Hit Home appeared first on Beetle Press.

So when I entered the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Hall Parish in Northampton back in February for the kick-off of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Hampshire County, I didn’t quite know what to expect.

What I discovered, besides stories and maple-syrup-covered pancakes, was that not one person—caregiver, survivor, team member, family member, or anyone else—spoke of cancer with fear in their voices.

In fact, Patty Greene of Florence, a longtime member of the event’s organizational committee, took the stage that morning and actually encouraged everyone to speak up about cancer, to use their stories to fight back and raise awareness. “There will be stories of people who Relay to honor, to remember and even share peoples’ own personal battles with cancer,” Patty said. “It is through sharing these stories that we find support, comfort, inspiration, motivation and hope.”

These are the words that pulled at my heartstrings, unaffected for so long.

I was at the kick-off breakfast with two fellow interns at Beetle Press: Molly Ahern and Shannon Grossman. Janice assists with the PR for the annual Relay event, and she assigned us to interview people involved in the event for stories that will be published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, starting this week through June.

In addition to interviewing Patty and taking several dozen photographs, I also perused the tables that lined the perimeter of the room, full of information about how to get involved with Relay. And through writing my story for the Gazette, the first that will run on the Health page, I learned that every story needs to be told.

Like Patty, Janice takes part in Relay by telling peoples’ stories because she thinks raising awareness of the need for increased involvement on all levels—volunteers, caretakers, survivors and donors—will be effective in the long run in helping the American Cancer Society to find a cure.

Relay For Life is a 24-hour event that allows participants to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and fight back against the disease. In its first year, the Hampshire County relay raised $24,000; last year, $220,000 was raised, which was $5,000 over the goal.

During relay, teams of participants take turns walking on a temporary track to raise money for cancer research and programs that benefit cancer patients and their families. During kick-off, the idea is not only to begin planning but also to inspire more participation by volunteers, team members and survivors, and to remember those who were lost to the disease and honor those who have survived.

To learn more, volunteer or donate, visit www.relayforlife.org/hampshirecountyma or email hamprelay@gmail.com.

The post Cancer Stories Raise Awareness appeared first on Beetle Press.

Shannon has been writing since she was in fifth grade, but she didn’t realize that writing creatively is what she was meant to do with her life until she was in high school. She is currently working on a fantasy novel, but is planning on editing some short stories and an ongoing novella project in hopes of publication. “After college,” she says, “I plan on working for a publishing company, hopefully in the editorial side of things.”

While at Beetle Press, Shannon will help Janice research and refine several of Janice’s own manuscripts—one a fictional love story and the other a memoir about visiting the South Pacific this winter. Shannon will likewise have her hand in several client book projects and in writing for the Daily Hampshire Gazette, under Janice’s guidance. Shannon will also learn how to write press releases and blogs.

“I wanted to strengthen my skills in both communication and writing,” Shannon says, noting why she chose Beetle Press for her internship. “I also wanted to get a ‘real-world’ experience, to acquire practice and familiarity with such things as interviewing, blogging, etc., and to grow as an individual.”

Shannon was born in Natick, Massachusetts, in November 1993. She attended Harwich High School and lives in Harwich when she is not at Westfield State, where she is a senior English major with both a writing concentration and a psychology minor.

The captain of the cross-country team at Westfield State, Shannon also runs track and was part of the league championship team that took the state title for the twelfth year in a row last year. “I personally had one of my best seasons running-wise,” Shannon says. “Continuing with running (from high school) and trying out for the Westfield State team was one of the best decisions I made. The friends I made through it are like a family to me, and they helped me grow as a person.”

Shannon is also a part of Sigma Tau Delta, Westfield State’s English Honors Society and is presenting her memoir, Wildest Dreams, at its conference in March. The book focuses on Shannon’s studies abroad—and a romance that ensued—in Denmark in the spring of 2015.

In her freshman year, Shannon journeyed with a team from Westfield State to Nicaragua in a community-service class. Sophomore year, she visited Nepal with a university group and trekked through the Himalayas for two weeks. Just this January, Shannon travelled with her best friend from home to Malaysia, backpacking for three-weeks throughout the country, just because.

“Traveling teaches you so much about yourself and others, and that’s why I’ll always want to travel,” Shannon says, noting that others should make efforts to see the larger world.

The post Cross-Country Traveler, Passionate Writer appeared first on Beetle Press.