Brittany Blankenship (left) interviewed Christina Milian at Hollywood Fashion Week for Ryan Seacrest Productions.

Note: This is the first article in a series on student internships at CBU.

 

RIVERSIDE (Feb. 15, 2013)—With fashionable high heels, a cup of her favorite Starbucks brew and her journalist skills, California Baptist University student Brittany Blankenship seized the opportunity to work as a journalist with NAVEN, a fashion label in Los Angeles.

 Blankenship, senior public relations major, found her time as a fashion intern an experience she will never forget.

 "The way they treated me was phenomenal," Blankenship said. "I would love to work for them again."

 Her internship entailed checking clothes out to stylists for celebrities such as the Kardashians and Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. Putting her public relation skills to the test, she learned how to develop working relationships with her supervisors.   

 Blankenship also interned as a fashion journalist for Ryan Seacrest Productions. That experience showed her the importance of writing articles that are appropriate to a specific brand.

 "For our articles we had to write what was appropriate to Ryan Seacrest's brand," said Blankenship. "Ryan is known for being really nice to celebrities and 99 percent of the celebrities are his personal friends, so we had to really respect that."

 Blankenship gives advice to future fashion interns.

 "The most important thing is dress appropriately," Blankenship said. "I think that says a lot. How you dress and how you carry yourself has a lot to do with the communication. I think that you need to dress for the job you want."

 Blankenship expects to graduate in the spring of 2013. Afterward, she wants to continue to work in public relations, possibly in the automobile industry. She says her education at CBU has given her the skills to move forward in a competitive market.

 

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