Study Abroad Spotlight: Catherine Melvin

Missouri School of Journalism student Catherine Melvin travelled all the way to Spain this summer just to work with an American client.

Through the MU Journalism Abroad program, Melvin has an internship with Atrevia, the No. 1 global communications firm in Spain. She is working on an international team to promote California Walnuts. Additionally, she attends several classes while abroad– a class on Spanish culture, a journalism seminar and a women and gender studies course.

“I am definitely using more from the J-School than I expected,” Melvin says. “During the promotional campaign, I became familiar with their brand strategy, brand image and the objectives of the campaign.”

Melvin is a strategic communication major with an emphasis in account management. For her internship, Melvin has used skills that she developed in J-School classes to work on a promotional campaign for California Walnuts, translate recipes into English and write blog updates for the company’s online publication.

“I hope to validate my chosen path in account management. I am getting a feel for what it would be like, and I think I have made a great choice,” Melvin says.

Melvin is also learning what it means to not have Wi-Fi. She’s learning the importance of personal connections, of bond with the women on their trip without having cellular data.

“None of us got international phone plans, so unless we are in our dorm or connected to public Wi-Fi, which doesn't always exist, we don't have Wi-Fi. We've found it’s very refreshing to be phone-free,” Melvin says. Schedule