Josie is currently a Junior at The University of Vermont. She is majoring in public communications with a concentration in journalism and a minor in applied design. She devoted time this past summer to navigating Handshake, a job and internship platform, in search of an internship for the fall semester. She was able to tailor her search by entering her interests, experiences, desired career fields, location preferences, and skill set.
Josie found an internship that truly spoke to her and fit perfectly into her desired schedule for the fall. After completing the application process, Josie was ecstatic to hear back that she was selected for the internship for the entirety of the fall semester – not to mention, that she would additionally be receiving credits for her work!
She started her social media and marketing internship with “Olive and Milo” at the end of August. Her role involved assisting her supervisor in marketing for her clients and being responsible for writing blogs. Some topics she specifically was able to gain more experience with and became more comfortable with throughout this internship thus far include developing her social media presence and understanding, as well as increasing her personal confidence with creating unique topics and ideas for discussion.
Josie was able to build her understanding of marketing and obtained hands-on experience. Such opportunities contributed more to her personal growth and allowed her to picture a more solidified idea of potential professions and job-oriented interests. Not to mention, she was also able to determine beneficial and ample skills that she already has established, as well as other areas that she may work on to make herself a better candidate for future opportunities within these industries.
Additionally, this internship has also allowed Josie to get a personal feel on preferred work environments. She explained that interning at “Olive and Milo” has helped her understand how she works best, which is very similar to the overall company function and ethic. Working in a collaborative and motivational environment with encouraging people that hold similar values is a special feature of “Olive and Milo” that she will continue to seek.
While Josie has expressed a number of unique learning outcomes that she has already grasped from interning at “Olive and Milo”, her greatest gain thus far has been her personal gain in understanding this particular professional field and being able to narrow her interests more for the future. She is happy to be learning and gaining experience at “Olive and Milo”, and expressed that, “As a communications major, I could tell when I looked at their website and handshake profile that I would be getting involved with a company that is practicing what they preach. I was excited to work with a company that seemed to have it together – and I knew I was going to learn so much. I could tell that I would be working with one person that started the company so I could learn more about entrepreneurship as well – which I did. Overall, I could tell I would be working with someone that wants their business to grow, and I wanted to be there to help and learn.”