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Public Relations Internship Part A, Customer Swap Stories #2
My name is Michael and I am currently a junior public relations major at Penn State.
When the university announced they partnered with Swap Tech Enterprise (STE) and launched the “Semester in Their Shoes” program, I knew that I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. I would spend the semester in the body of a recent graduate working full time in the public relations field letting me see the day to day life of someone who works in public relations looked like. While participating in the program, the work assigned to you would equate to some of the classes I should be taking but can’t while part of the program, so not only was I gaining real world experience in the field, but I also wouldn’t be missing any credits and would still get to graduate on time. As for the person I would be swapping with, they would get to spend a couple of months living my life and having a break for all the work they had to do.
Once applications for the program opened I immediately applied in hopes to spend my spring semester working in Public Relations. After months of waiting to hear back, I finally received the email informing me that I was accepted and matched with someone for the swap. I was so excited I could barely contain my excitement in the days leading up to the swap. Finally, the day arrived and I headed down to the STE Swap Bank as instructed. I informed them that I was participating in the program through my school and they quickly gave me a run down of who I would be swapping with other information that I would need to know before the swap. After receiving all the information, the Swap Technician took me to the swap room and began prepping me for the swap. As they counted down, I was so excited that I didn’t even realize I lost consciousness once the Swap Tech’s countdown hit 0. As I opened my eyes, I noticed I was in a different room and knew the swap had worked. However, as I stood up from the bed, something was wrong. Looking down at my hands I noticed they were showing signs of aging, which shouldn’t be the case since I was supposed to be swapping with a recent graduate. I brought my hands to my chest and noticed that I was showing signs of aging as well as my body looked like it hadn’t stepped foot in a gym in years. I quickly ran to the mirror and was shocked by the face looking back at me. It wasn’t the face of a 24 year old recent graduate but that of what I could assume was a 50-55 year old man.
Turns out that Chris, the manager of the public relations team I was joining couldn’t secure any volunteers for the swap, so he elected to step up instead. I started demanding that they swap me back now, but per the terms of the contract I signed when applying for the program, it stated that if no recent grad volunteers could be available, the head of the team could step up in their place. Upset with the circumstances, I reluctantly got dressed and headed to Chris’s apartment in Midtown, as I was now going to be living at his place in New York until the end of the spring semester in May. I quickly took a picture and sent it to my parents, as they wanted to be updated once I was settled in.
To say my parents were shocked was an understatement, but they also knew the terms I agreed too when applying for the program and told to stick it out as May would come soon enough and I could get back to my body. They also told me they’d keep a close eye on Chris in my body to make sure he didn’t do anything I would regret after the swap so that calmed my nerves a bit. Figuring I had nothing better to do, I prepped for my first day on the job tomorrow. What should be an exciting time in my life has now been ruined and all I can do now is finish what I signed up for. God, May can’t come quick enough!
Public Relations Internship Finale, Customer Swap Stories #2
Hi there, my name is Chris and I am the manager of one of the teams at one of the most elite public relations firms in the country!
When I received a request for a swap within the Swap Tech Enterprise (STE) “Semester in Their Shoes” program, I was super excited as I would be able to train and teach a member of the incoming generation of public relations field. I quickly got to work trying to secure a member of my team who would be willing to swap with Michael, but none were willing to step up. Eventually, I had received a firm no from all members of my team, so I reached out to STE and let them know they would need to reach out to another firm to secure a body for Michael. However, they informed as per the contract both Michael signed when applying for the program and the contract that the company signed as a participating industry leader, I could step up and do the swap with Michael instead. I was nervous at first, because not only would the work load be way more than what he was expecting, but he would also be getting a body twice his age and I would be robbing him of 5 months of his golden years. However, after a lot of deliberation and talking with my manager, we decided it be best to move along with me swapping with Michael not only to keep a good relationship with STE, but so that Michael can gain the experience he was promised when accepted into the program. My manager ensured that he’d be there to help Michael out whenever needed as he would be stepping into a role way out of his caliber. With everything settled, I informed STE of the decision and headed down to the Swap Bank on the day designated. This wasn’t my first time use STE to body swap as I had used it before when going on company business trips, so I quickly settled in and the Swap Technician initiated the swap. Waking up from the swap, I immediately felt more rejuvenated as I was now a 21 year old college student again.
Getting out of the bed, I went to the bathroom and was not disappointed by the sight in front of me in the mirror.
Michael definitely took care of his body, most likely thought eating healthy and going to the gym a couple of times a week. I couldn’t wait to get back to his place and explore more of my new body. For the next 5 months I am Michael, without any responsibilities whatsoever I am going to live it up the fullest until May gets here!
