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Feature on Antoinette Hovor's Internship with World Wildlife Fund

Our i-Mail series features internships COMM students have had and what they've learned from their experiences. 

This spotlight showcases Antoinette Hovor's summer internship with the World Wildlife Fund. She worked as a Communications Intern on the Forest Team, learning about the vital role forests play in conservation. Hovor reflected on the experience and how much fun she had researching animals and engaging in other communication-related tasks.

Hovor was a BRIDGE intern, which is a paid internship opportunity aimed at talented undergraduate and graduate students who bring fresh thinking and innovation to the environmental sector. She stated she had the most fun at the BRIDGE information sessions, where she got to meet different professionals, even some UMD alums, who helped her build connections and provided professional development advice. 

Hovor heard about the internship through the Intern for a Day program at UMD. She shadowed WWF, and was able to work there for credit over the summer. 

Hovor's COMM background helped her in this position because as she states, "Everything I did was communications, from editing, gathering photos, to conducting an interview. I was constantly in comms meetings, discussing everything like media posts and new reports on the latest animal." 

Hovor said the biggest lesson learned was "the importance of speaking out. I pushed myself to ask questions and reach out to WWF professionals for coffee chats. In doing so, I not only built valuable relationships, but gained confidence in myself as a growing professional."

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, Antoinette, and great work this summer!