Welcome!!

Welcome to my personal portfolio. This portfolio was created in order to give you a better understanding not only of who I am as a person but what I can offer you as a potential intern. I am currently a freshman at Rider University majoring in Communications/Journalism with a track in Public Relations. I have always lived by the quote "Anything worth having, is worth fighting for." This quote embodies who I am as an individual because I always give 110% to whatever I do whether it's school work, extra-curricular activities, or simply lending a helping hand. I believe that success does not come without hard work. I hope you enjoy seeing this for yourself through my past work and experiences that I have laid out for you in my blog.

Letter Of Intent

Dear Internship Coordinator,

I have created this virtual portfolio in order to express my interest in becoming an intern for your company. I’ve always been interested in Video Production, Promotions, and Communications in general. With my communications/journalism major I feel I would have a positive impact on your company. My Public Relations studies at Rider University will not only strengthen my communication skills but provide me with the necessary tools to go above and beyond the average intern.

Throughout this blog my experiences and knowledge with communications are highlighted in order to give you a better understanding of what I can offer your company as an intern. Creative expression is what you are looking for in order to reach the public; and that’s exactly what I have to offer.
I’ve attached my resume’ as well as several examples of my work including: academic assignments, edited photos, and a short production promo. Please enjoy my virtual portfolio and I hope you find what you’re looking for!

Sincerely,

Tiffany Ervin

Biography

It all began on February 8th, 1991. I was born in Helen Fuld Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey. My family at the time was just my mother, father, and older sister. Eventually it expanded until I had four siblings as opposed to one. We lived in Trenton for a few years until I was old enough to talk and then we moved to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. We lived there for about six years until my parents divorced and my siblings and I all moved to Plainfield, New Jersey with my mother. It was in Plainfield that I attended Emerson Elementary School, up until the fourth grade. During my time at Emerson I became passionate about art and all things art related. In my spare time I would often draw or paint pictures of anything I could get my hands on. In the summer before I started the fifth grade my family moved to Somerset, New Jersey where I attended Franklin Park Elementary School, Sampson G. Smith Intermediate School, and eventually Franklin High School. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a very ambitious person and this was always reflected through my school work and athletics. Somewhere along the lines I was struck with a great sense of determination and it has never failed to push me to give my best effort to everything I do. During my time at Franklin High School I took a course called Aspect’s of Video Production I. During this course in my junior year I discovered my passion for Video Production and reaching out to the public. I’ve created several videos, montage's, Public Service Anouncements (PSA's) and directed a short film entitled “The Bad Day” which I am very proud of.

I am now a freshman at Rider University majoring in Communications/Journalism with a track in public relations, and this was inspired by my passion for video production and promotion. Eventually I want to be able to use my talents and passion for the field in order to follow a career path I can be happy with. I love to express myself in ways that are new, creative, fun, and outside the box; this is what separates me from everyone else.

Resume'

Here I have attached a copy of my resume'. Hopefully with this resume' you can gain a better understanding of my skills, experiences, and abilities as a possible intern for your company.

Academic Experiences

Academic excellence has always been something that I’ve strived to achieve. Whether that be putting my all into completing a homework assignment or studying just a little bit more for that test or quiz, it’s something I hold very close to me. There can be no true success without hard work, and this is why I try my hardest to produce the best possible work whenever I am assigned something. Below are just a few examples of assignments for your review that I have completed throughout my academic career.

• My Race, Class, and Gender Studies professor assigned a short Abstract (or reflection) upon an article we were asked to read dealing with discrimination in our current society. The attached assignment is a reflection upon the article mixed with my opinions on the issue.

• For Expository Writing we were assigned a detailed paper responding to a current global warming scandal. This scandal stemmed from the errors pointed out by scientists in Al Gore’s movie An Inconvenient Truth. After examining all of the information presented to me on the controversial issue I wrote the following essay.

• The following PowerPoint presentation was presented along with a persuasive speech in my speech communication class. The topic I was trying to persuade my audience on was “Why men should not sag their pants.”

Work/Volunteer Experiences

I believe that being a well rounded individual does not come from having a strong academic background alone. One must also be willing to put forth a decent work effort in order to gain experiences that will teach life lessons. Over the past few years I have been accepted for several employment opportunities, ones that have given me both mental strength and experience working cooperatively with others. Below I have listed a few work opportunities that I’ve had (both volunteer and paid). Hopefully by viewing them you can gain a better understanding of the personal abilities that I’ve developed from such positions.

• In both the summer of 2007 and 2008 I worked as a coach/mentor at Hoop Dreams Basketball Camp in Somerset, New Jersey. My job responsibilities as a coach included teaching fundamental skills like dribbling, shooting, as well as general basketball rules to children ages 6-9 on a daily basis. I also doubled as a mentor to the young children that I was responsible for. This meant that if the children had any concerns or issues regarding confidence, ability, or anything along those lines I was there for them to talk to. This allowed me to get to know each of my campers on a personal level; this in fact was a very enriching experience for me. The coaching portion of my job was paid, however the mentoring portion was volunteer work.



• From October 2008 until April 2009 I was employed by Protec Hockey Ponds. Protec is an Ice Hockey Rink in Somerset, New Jersey. My responsibilities there included: Cooking and preparing food, handling money, and catering to the customer in a way that would make them satisfied with the service provided. During my time at Protech I came in contact with many different types of people and it was my job to learn how to relate to each one personally so that they would feel comfortable and pleased. I feel this job improved my “people skills” and gave me great experience working with others.

Artistic Expressions

When one can express themselves artistically it opens up new doors and creates new opportunities. Ever since I was young I’ve always been attracted to new ways of creative expression. I enjoy taking and editing pictures as well as filming and editing together videos for people to view. Creative and fresh expression is a very useful tool when it comes to public relations simply because one must always find new ways to reach out and grab people. Below I have just a few pieces that I’ve worked on in the past year.

• The slide show below is a compilation of a few very interesting or special photos that I’ve taken or edited this past year.



• Previously I mentioned that I directed a short film entitled “The Bad Day” for my Film class. At the end of the year all the short films were premiered in our auditorium for the general public to view. The following video is a Production Promo which was aired on our schools television network to promote the films premier.

Thankyou!

I just want to say thank you very much for taking the time out to view my virtual portfolio. Hopefully you’ve found what you are looking for in an intern while browsing though my blog. I will continue to put forth my best effort at all times and strive for greatness. As I grow and progress in my college career I will update my virtual portfolio so feel free to stop by anytime.

If you have any questions you can contact me at ervint@rider.edu. Once, again I would like to say thank you and I look forward to hearing from you!