Throughout my time abroad, in the summer, and as a full-time student, I have completed several internships over a variety of disciplines including marketing, graphic design, and event planning.
Below, you will find a reflection and portfolio from my internship abroad, as well as descriptions of my additional internship experiences and samples of my professional work.
Reflection
As a Language and International Business student at Clemson University, one of the quintessential parts of our program is the completion of an internship while abroad. These internships allow students the opportunity to apply classroom learning to a business environment in their target language and culture. During my time studying abroad in Seville, Spain, I worked as a marketing intern for Lemon Yoga Sevilla, a yoga studio local to Seville. Over the course of four months, this internship experience taught me a great deal about marketing, Spanish language, and business culture.
At the beginning of my program, all interns were required to set three goals for their internships: a professional goal, a cultural goal, and a personal goal. For my professional goal, I hoped to expand my knowledge of marketing through real world experience. My cultural goal was centered around learning how to successfully navigate the business culture of a foreign country through my internship course and by actively working in a foreign country. Finally, my personal goal was to expand my Spanish speaking skills to encompass professional communication by practicing every day. By the end of the program, I was able to say with confidence that I had met these goals and had seen great success in my internship as a result.
As a marketing intern for Lemon Yoga Sevilla, I had several responsibilities including the design of marketing materials, management of all social media platforms, creation and implementation of new marketing strategies, and assistance in general administrative duties. In my time at Lemon Yoga, I managed to grow overall social media engagement by 40%, apply my Spanish speaking, reading, and writing skills in a professional setting, and demonstrate a strong ability to market in a foreign country.
I have been working since I was fifteen years old and have held three additional internships following my internship abroad, but I know that it will be hard find an experience as unique or valuable as this one. I believe one of the most important things you can do for professional and personal growth is to push yourself out of your comfort zone. This internship was the first opportunity I had to apply classroom knowledge on marketing and Spanish language and culture to a real work environment. To say that it was challenging is an understatement, but my ability to adapt allowed me to quickly and effectively adjust to working in a foreign country. Altogether, my time interning abroad allowed me to expand on my classroom knowledge of marketing and Spanish and enabled me to greatly improve my professional competencies.
Work Samples
Ducks Unlimited, Inc. is a 501(c)3 that conserves, restores, and manages wetlands and associated habitats for North America's waterfowl. Each year, they host a national convention in which board members, volunteers, employees, and supporters come together for a week of business sessions, meetings, tours, fundraising, auctions, and galas. As a National Meetings and Conferences intern for Ducks Unlimited, I worked at their national headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee to assist in the planning and execution of the Ducks Unlimited 85th National Convention.
Responsibilities
• Assisted in the planning and execution of Ducks Unlimited's 85th National Convention with attendance of over one thousand individuals and record-setting fundraising levels.
• Worked with a team to coordinate accommodation, meeting spaces, marketing materials, scheduling, events, and meetings for a seven-day convention.
• Demonstrated a strong ability to multi-task, think creatively, problem-solve, and communicate effectively while on site for the convention.
• Liaised with suppliers, vendors and donors to ensure the fulfillment of obligations and fundraising success.
Skills
Multi-tasking · Time Management · Organization · Interpersonal Communication · Event Planning · Problem Solving
Clemson University's Pearce Center for Professional Communication is a communication studio that offers a variety of services and programs as a means to promote effective communication. As a Pearce Center intern, my work was interdisciplinary, collaborative and project-based. I had the opportunity to develop my skills in communications, digital marketing and graphic design through client-based projects. As a Pearce Center intern, I served as a design lead for the UPIC Magazine team, a digital marketing lead for the 2023 IWAC Conference team, and a member of the Pearce Center's digital marketing team.
Responsibilities
• Created content for and managed several digital marketing channels for the Pearce Center for Professional Communication to grow and engage the audience.
• Managed marketing channels for the 2023 International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference for promotion and informative purposes.
• Designed the layout of and wrote editorial content for the 2023 Clemson University UPIC Program Magazine. Required heavy use of Adobe Creative Suite including InDesign and Illustrator.
• Collaborated with Pearce Center staff and interns to complete a multitude of client projects.
Skills
Digital Marketing · Adobe Creative Suite · Editorial Writing · Teamwork · Time Management
Work Samples
Clemson University's Department of Campus Recreation provides quality recreation experiences to students, faculty and staff through their programs and facilities. Campus Recreation has a wide variety of activities, classes, programs, and event offerings and as a graphic design intern for this department, I was responsible for creating print, social media, and other media forms of graphics for each of these. My work was client-based and very collaborative, and time management and communication of expectations and guidelines were heavily emphasized in this role.
Responsibilities
• Demonstrated an extensive knowledge of multiple graphic design software programs including Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Premiere Pro.
• Collaborated with a multitude of clients, fellow interns, the communications team, and other Campus Recreation team members to successfully complete projects.
• Designed original print material, social media graphics, online and television ads, and newsletters according to Clemson University's brand guidelines.
•. Completed projects by the deadline discussed with clients.
Skills
Graphic Design · Time Management · Adobe Creative Suite · Creativity · Branding
