Intern Spotlight: Meet Alison

by Alison Oehmen
Intern, Fall 2014

As far back as I can remember, I’ve been the modest bookworm type. Always the soft-spoken one and often referred to as “quiet Alison,” it’s taken me awhile to accept and embrace my introvert’s personality. Although I’ll never be the life of the party, I like to think of myself as a highly thoughtful and empathetic person. Despite heavy and longtime involvement in team sports when I was younger, my favorite pastimes by far are painting and reading; I’m drawn to the analytical and reflective aspects of such artistic and literary pursuits.

When it comes down to it, though, my first love was the written word. In elementary school, I’d sneak a flashlight into my room and stay up until all hours binge-reading Roald Dahl books. Then, in middle and high school, I was the girl who had her nose in a book as she walked between classes and who actually looked forward to writing essays on Shakespeare. And for me, the best part of Fourth of July celebrations has been the annual book sale held that weekend near my family’s lake house on Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. I’ve been known to spend hours combing through the collection and then leaving with boxes of books in tow. As a result, I am quite literally surrounded by literature at home. My room boasts two large bookcases filled with books, all lovingly alphabetized by author.

So when I decided to major in English at Bates College in Maine, no one close to me was particularly surprised. However, the inevitable follow-up question asked by friends and family—“What will you do?”—was a much more difficult one to field. When I was younger I had dreams of becoming a writer, and during my high school years I briefly contemplated becoming a teacher. But it wasn’t until my college years that I discovered the wide world of publishing while interning at a small New Hampshire publishing company one summer.

Since graduating college, I’ve had the good fortune of snagging two concurrent internships, one of which has been at PSG. It’s turned out to be a very advantageous arrangement, as it’s afforded me the chance to explore and become more familiar with different facets of the industry before I attempt to navigate through it professionally. After all, at Bates there weren’t any courses that related directly to publishing, nor were there any internship opportunities near campus.

But PSG has made up for that in so many ways. I’ve been able to continue writing and to expand my skills in this regard by doing research for and constructing blog posts on a myriad of fascinating topics. I’ve also brushed up on and strengthened my proofreading skills on a few projects. Most recently, though, I’ve begun assisting with fact-checking work, which is brand-new territory to me but very interesting all the same. Nothing makes me happier than the challenge of mastering a new skill.

Little Known Facts about Alison

Many people have a sweet tooth, but few have one to rival Alison’s. If it were socially acceptable, she would spend her days eating bags of M&M’s. Nothing is too sweet for her taste buds, especially if there’s chocolate involved, and she’s never met a dessert she didn’t like. As a result, she loves to bake. From cookies and cakes to brownies and pies, she loves to make anything sugary and nutritionally useless. She is sure to share the scrumptious wealth, though, and her baked goods are well-known and amply appreciated among friends and family.