On a recent Monday, I had the opportunity to dress up as Spirit, Southwest’s corporate mascot.  As the PR Intern, I got to join the Team in Denver to commemorate the opening of a new Provisioning Base.  As part of this celebration, we also distributed backpacks to military children and showed support for our new nonstop flights.  I viewed a lot of this through the nose of Spirit, the life-size airplane.  If I ever get to be Spirit again, I think I might wear roller skates.  Skating with big wheels on your feet would be much easier than trying to walk!

After setting up for the event, it was time for the costume.  I had to have some help managing this very bulky plane.  I thought it somewhat ironic that a Pilot was there to help my Coworker, Ashley Pettit, hoist the plane over my head.  Wow—it was heavy!

Suddenly I could see through Spirit’s nose the families coming up the escalators, and there I stood dressed as a plane, waiting to greet them.  Some of the younger kids weren’t sure what to think about this oversized airplane.  After all, it’s not every day you see one with big eyes and a smile.  But they stood there long enough to take a Polaroid picture with Spirit and quickly moved on to the cake.   

And then there were the ten- and twelve-year olds who wanted to know why Spirit wasn’t talking.  Trying to get a reaction out of me, they poked Spirit’s nose and messed with the wings.  But I survived their teasing and made it through the celebration with protection from the PR Team!

Although it was pretty warm inside Spirit, it was a FUN experience that I won’t forget.  In fact, this whole summer has been very memorable.  When I got the job as the PR Intern, I knew it would be a great experience, but I had no idea I’d get to do ALL of this!  I always had several projects to keep me busy, and in addition to that, I ended up jet-setting around the country going to Chicago and Denver for work, helping out with photo shoots for Gary and Herb, and writing articles that will be published in Spirit magazine.  Not too shabby!

Not only did I get to have some amazing experiences, but I worked with an incredible group of people, and I looked forward to coming to the office and seeing them each day.

As my internship comes to a close and I head back to school, I will miss the smiling faces that I see here.  I’m already making plans to come back and visit over Christmas Break in December!  I’m so thankful for the FUN summer I spent here at Southwest Airlines and the friends I’ve made along the way.