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Internship Spotlights
InternshipSpotlights
JIM MORAN COLLEGE INTERNSHIP SPOTLIGHTS
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The College features undergraduate and graduate students who have completed outstanding internships each semester. These students had the opportunity to work with companies and individuals in a variety of industries and are excited to share these opportunities with our readers.
ALLISON MARY PENA | COMMERICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
WITH WHAT COMPANY DID YOU INTERN?
Over the summer, I had the opportunity to intern at Kerigan Marketing Associates based in Mexico Beach, Florida. The company values creativity, aptitude, and efficiency. At its core, KMA is a group of diverse professionals that help businesses grow to the next level while providing a full range of marketing services. Some of the services include creating websites, writing commercials, managing social media, and running Google Ad campaigns.
As a social media strategist intern, I mainly created social media content for eight clients in different industries. I was also responsible for developing and implementing a marketing plan to drive sales. When I came into the internship, one of the clients had only been operating for a month and only had one sale. As someone in the process of creating a business, I couldn ' t help but care for the owner, and I wanted to do everything I could to help them make at least one more sale before my internship ended. I was assigned to create a new-to-world product marketing strategy for this client. This strategy was composed of hours of research. Pulling inspiration from the brand YETI, I developed a method and messaging that would benefit this specific client the most. Near the middle of my internship, the client received five sales, and two of them came directly from social media!
My internship experience helped me build confidence in myself and my abilities. I was exposed to many facets that go into making a brand. I learned firsthand how important it is to pay attention to want the audience wants to hear, not so much what you want to say. My internship was so much more than just posting on social media. It played an integral part in creating a complete, successful, and fully realized digital marketing strategy. My time at KMA made me realize my passion for building brands and even landed me a job this fall as a director of marketing for a local startup known as Footy Training App.
DURING YOUR INTERNSHIP?
Never stop learning! Your education doesn ' t end once you graduate college. There ' s plenty of information readily available to us, but few take advantage of this. Growing your skills and expertise in any area through an internship, hearing others ' experiences, or teaching yourself something is vital. Your willingness to learn is what gives you a competitive edge. As for my biggest challenge. it took some time for me to adjust to reaching out for help. I can be a stubborn person and would often avoid asking for helping especially if it involved work. My internship made me realize that there is nothing wrong with asking for help; it can save you so much time.
PATRICK MCCORMICK | RETAIL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The biggest piece of advice I can give to other students looking for an internship is to know your worth. If you know you would do an incredible job at the company you are interested in, let that be known. Prepare as much as you can for interviews and chat with current employees on LinkedIn to show initiative and commitment.
WITH WHAT COMPANY DID YOU INTERN?
This internship has deeply shaped my career path and future aspirations because it made me realize my potential in this industry and that it is exactly where I need to be. Fanatics also recognized my potential and recently offered me a full-time position as an assistant buyer in the merchandising department after I graduate in the Spring!
This Summer I had the privilege of interning with the Jacksonville-based online retail company Fanatics, who focuses on selling licensed sports clothing for all of the major sporting leagues like the NFL and NBA.
I worked as a merchandising intern with the NCAA department learning the roles of a buyer and all of the different responsibilities that go into the position. I met with a wide range of buyers in different leagues and clothing departments on a daily basis to deeper understand how to be a successful buyer and flourish in the industry. Some notable highlights include working on the Men ’ s and Woman ’ s Baseball College World Series, having one of my shirt designs incorporated into the clothing assortment for the 2021 NBA Finals, and showcasing my final project to the entire merchandising department which focused on building a more inclusive and diverse Fanatics community by better appealing to underrepresented sports fans.
DURING YOUR INTERNSHIP?
The biggest lesson I learned during my internship is to never be afraid to ask questions. There is always something new to learn, and asking any sort of question should not be viewed as a weakness because no one knows everything. The biggest challenge I confronted during my internship was the pressure I put onto myself when developing the extensive final project I had to present to the entire merchandising department of over 100 experts in the industry. I knew that all eyes would be on me during the presentation and I really wanted to impress everyone which led me to work extremely hard for countless hours on the project. I put my all into the presentation and it paid off because I got great feedback and many of the ideas I presented have a high possibility of being incorporated into the business. Seeing all of my hard work pay off was such an incredible feeling and a great way to end my Summer at Fanatics.
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