Beth Oseroff: Lighting the Night for Leukemia and Lymphoma

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Beth Oseroff greets visitors to her booth at a trade fair where she promoted the Light the Night Walk.

FULTON, MO (12/19/2013)(readMedia)-- Her list of activities is long, but William Woods University senior Beth Oseroff is most proud to say she is involved with one particular organization-the Leukemia and Lymphoma society of Dallas, Texas.

Oseroff interned for the society this past summer in the marketing and fundraising department. A sports management and equine general studies major from Dallas, she found the internship online.

"I did a really general search for marketing internships when I came across this one. I had a childhood friend who beat leukemia, so the cause was very close to my heart. Amy Dittmer in Career Services helped me prepare for my interviews," she said.

Oseroff worked closely with Dittmer to make sure her resume and interview skills were in tip-top shape.

"Amy helped me with everything. First she helped me tweak my resume and cover letter, then we went over everything about interviews like the proper things to say, how to write a thank you card and pretty much everything else," she said.

Dittmer even helped Oseroff via Skype.

"I had a phone interview and then a Skype interview before I got this internship. One hour before my Skype interview, Amy Skyped me from her office," Oseroff said. "She helped me find the right background, position of the computer and then she asked me some practice questions."

Oseroff worked around 25-30 hours a week from May until August for the society, specifically for their Light the Night walk at the end of October.

"My duties for the job were vast," she said. "My day's activities ranged from entering volunteers in the computer system to small stuff, like folding t-shirts."

Part of the internship even required Oseroff to network with outside companies.

"The foundation also works with Burlington Coat Factory and Jason's Deli to sell balloons in support of Leukemia and Lymphoma research," she said. "Another part of my job was to keep in contact with them and keep track of how many balloons they sold."

Even the small duties made a big impact on Oseroff.

"After this summer I now plan on completing my master's degree in public relations and marketing," Oseroff said. "I did a bunch of marketing promotions with them and really enjoyed it."

Career support is not the only thing she gained from her internship.

"I was really lucky to be able to hear all the stories from the survivors," Oseroff said. "It really made me appreciate giving back more and realizing the stresses in my life could always be worse, and I should be thankful."

About a month into her internship, the reality of the diseases hit close to home.

"Recently one of my Alpha Chi Omega sorority sisters was diagnosed with Leukemia, so it was nice to be able to provide her with information about the disease and give her some connections to her local chapter here in Missouri."

Oseroff returned to Texas at the end of October to walk in Light the Night with the Dallas chapter, and she plans to continue her support by volunteering with the society in the future.