NFHS Welcomes Two Fall Interns

Two Butler (Indiana) University students have joined the NFHS this fall, as Emily Cerling and Bob Herman will serve as part-time interns in the Publications/Communications Department.

Cerling of Evansville, Indiana, is a senior majoring in public relations with an advertising concentration and a minor in theatre. The image, solid publications and strong reputation of the NFHS drew her to the position.

"The most important thing I hope to get out of the NFHS internship is writing experience," Cerling said. "But with any internship, I want to find out more about myself. During the fall, I hope to challenge myself as a writer and determine what my strengths and weaknesses are."

While at Butler, Cerling spent a semester interning for The Hatcher Group, a communications firm in Bethesda, Maryland, where she conducted research, sent press releases and worked with the media. She also has participated in Butler Theatre, Advertising Club, Public Relations Student Society of America and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

"The sorority opens so many doors for you, whether it's a leadership role or service opportunity," she said. "I was the director of several sorority productions and the public relations chairperson. Both positions pushed me to communicate clearly and effectively with people."

While in high school, Cerling played varsity tennis for four years, and performed in the show choir and in numerous musicals and plays.

"The performing opportunities allowed me to build confidence and entertain people," she said. "I am also an only child, which gave me the opportunity to grow up around adults and become better at interacting with them."

Cerling is unsure what the future holds for her, but she aspires to be a communications director for a media or communications organization. Despite this uncertainty, there is one thing she is sure about now.

"One day I hope to make a difference," she said. "I'm not really sure where, but I love interacting with the public."

The second of the two interns, Bob Herman, has a unique perspective on Butler athletics. He attends the games not only as a fan, but as Blue the Bulldogs mascot.

"I'm currently the head mascot at Butler, which is just flat-out fun," he said.

Aside from mascotting, Herman is a junior working toward a degree in journalism with a concentration in news editorial and a minor in Spanish. He has experience with the campus newspaper, The Butler Collegian, and hopes to gain more with the NFHS internship.

"I primarily hope to understand the journalism realm a little more through this internship," he said. "It's weird to think that in a couple years, it's going to be my turn to get an actual job with certain responsibilities, and I want to be able to understand what I'm capable of doing."

At The Collegian, Herman is the managing editor. He also has experience as the head copy editor, where he took charge of editing the entire paper before it went to print. The previous year he worked as a contributing writer, covering tennis, golf and cross country. While at St. John (Indiana) Lake Central High School, Herman served as the co-copy editor of his school newspaper, the Scout, his senior year, and as the sports editor his junior year.

"My newspaper experience will help me out greatly in my future journalistic goals," he said. "I decided to intern with the NFHS because I've heard great things from previous interns and my adviser."

Herman's parents, Jodi and Ron, still reside in his hometown of Schererville, Indiana. His older sister Katie, 21, attends Midwestern University in Downers Grove, Illinois, and his younger sister Laura, 15, is a sophomore at Lake Central High School.

Much like many college students, Herman doesn't have concrete plans for his future, but hopes to work in editing or writing.

"I love to copy edit, read and improve my writing, so my future careers could be anything from a copy editor to perhaps working with a book publishing company," he said. "Nonetheless, I just want to do something where reading and writing criss-cross."

Miller was a summer intern in the NFHS Publications/Communications Department. She is a senior at the University of Dayton (Ohio), majoring in journalism and Spanish.