Reflections of a Mini-Maven

Hi there, this is your friendly neighborhood intern speaking!

Like most soon-to-be college graduates, I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on all the things I’ve gotten to learn and experience on my journey through higher education. This semester I had the opportunity to learn from the most incredible group of women, both professionally and personally.

My degree actually isn’t in marketing or PR, but in technical communication and administration. I’ve spent countless hours putting together recommendation reports and memos, and I’ve pulled more all-nighters than I’d like to admit writing project proposals and comparative rhetorical analyses. (Sounds fun, right?) Coming into this internship, I thought writing social media posts and media materials would be a breeze compared to all the writing I did in school. Boy, was I mistaken.

Here are just a few of the things that I learned during my tenure as a McKeeman Maven:
1. Social media is a subtle artform. A successful social media presence requires a lot of thoughtful planning and careful curation. At this point, I’ve written posts for a wide variety of audiences and purposes and each one has presented its own unique challenges.
2. Media relations is the most effective form of marketing. Cultivating relationships and sharing successes with the media is often more effective than regular advertising. Watching a story take shape from drafting a release to getting coverage is so satisfying.
3. Instagram highlights are a full-scale production. They also happen to be really fun.

I learned a lot of really valuable skills throughout this internship, but the single most important thing I learned is this: being part of a team of supportive, intelligent, hilarious women is the most rewarding experience ever.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.