I need some ideas on how to answer this question creatively

How does co-operative education (internships), liberal arts classes
and marketing major classes connect to each other and enhance/ improve
one's education and future?  How has each of these three components of
my education informed and enhanced the other two?

I am a sophomore in college and have had one co-op experience as a
public relations assistant  at a financial firm...  I have taken art ,
english and sociology classes in the liberal arts category, and one
intro to marketing class along with an accounting class and a general
business class.

Any way to integrate a little of my personal experience would be
great, but I'm mainly looking for a creative way to tackle this
question for an essay.
Thanks!

Hi! Thanks for a very interesting question.

One way to creatively integrate all three is to mention the importance
internship, marketing and liberal arts classes to provide you a well
rounded education that can help you not only get a job but be a factor
in the workplace, have the spirit of an entrepreneur and make a
contribution to society.

Let us start with the obvious… internship and marketing.

Internship exposes you to real life work settings. But there is more
you can get from internships.

“Job related work experience has been identified by employers as being
very important when recruiting college graduates for entry-level
employment.”

“These opportunities enable students to test their career interests,
enhance their career goals, gain transferable skills that are sought
by employers, and increase their networking opportunities”

“Participation in work experience or internship programs can
contribute to students' academic performance. For secondary students,
work-based learning has been found to motivate most students and has
had a positive effect on students' academic performance, graduation
rates, and enrollment in post-secondary education”

“Internships in Higher Education: Promoting Success for Students with
Disabilities”
http://www.cds.hawaii.edu/dsq/_articles_pdf/2001/Winter/dsq_2001_Winter_06.pdf

Marketing meanwhile provides an important element in your pursuit of a
meaningful career after college since it could do the following for
you:

a.) Know the basics of selling the companies products and services

b.) Have a disciplined outlook in dealing with customers or clients.
Customer Service is one of the most important aspects of the job
wherein most employees are relatively poor at.

c.) Probably the most important is that you learn to market yourself!
Market yourself to employers, co-workers (to get peer approval) and
even to clients.

This link discusses the importance on marketing yourself.

“Marketing yourself to employers”
http://www.jobseekersadvice.com/articles/marketing_yourself.htm 

Once you are in a business of your own, the same principles apply
since you are still marketing yourself but this time in the name of
the company plus marketing to your employees to make them work and
give their best for you.

“Basics of Marketing for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs”
http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt9012.html

“Remember the Users Closest to Home” (An article about marketing to
your employees)
http://www.clickz.com/crm/crm_strat/print.php/836991 

Finally we come down to liberal arts education. Some would say that
liberal arts classes really don’t mean much in the real world. But
actually it can mesh both internships and marketing together in our
case. It could also be the deciding factor between failure and
success.

In an article we will cite, it mentions the following benefits of a
liberal arts education.  You can get a more detailed explanation of
each of the elements below by reading the article.

a.) “A liberal arts education teaches you how to think.”

b.) “A liberal arts education teaches you how to learn.”

c.) “A liberal arts education allows you to see things whole”

d.) “A liberal arts education enhances wisdom and faith”

e.) “A liberal arts education makes you a better teacher.”

We can see that in liberal arts courses, you develop strength in
character to not only survive in the workplace but to thrive in it. It
enables you to be creative and pushes you to pursue greater heights.
It makes you open to change. You can also contribute to society when
you show these qualities to your co-workers, employees and customers.

“On the Purpose of a Liberal Arts Education”
http://www.virtualsalt.com/libarted.htm 

In your case English classes and sociology not only improves your
communication skills as a public relations assistant but it also opens
you up to new ideas and concepts. Marketing and general business
courses make you sensitive to business concepts and elements which
contribute to the company’s bottom line.

Search terms used:      
Internship “liberal arts” importance education
Marketing yourself entrepreneurship 
          
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
          
Thanks for visiting us.           
          
Regards,           
Easterangel-ga           
Google Answers Researcher

Very helpful, Thank you!