By Adah Unachukwu, FCLC 2023
Logo designs that Adah proposed for the app
During the winter break, I was extremely focused on finding an internship. In addition to applying for internships on Handshake and other job sites, I also gave my resume to my friends and family so that they could pass it along to their friends who worked in relevant fields and industries. My aunt has a friend, Maggie, who owns a branding company. She made websites, logos and increased the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for brands. At the time, I was searching for brands that had a focus on social media where I could learn how to present a brand on social media. I met with Maggie, and we had an informal interview where we discussed what we wanted to get out of this internship. Payment was discussed, which made me very uncomfortable, but I soon learned the importance of advocating for yourself. The interview went very well, and I became an intern for Maggie during my spring semester.
My job description was to aid her in the research for an app that she wanted to launch. I was to sketch up a rudimentary business plan for the app as well. Because I was so interested in seeing how businesses manage their social media, Maggie also taught me a lot about what goes into building a business persona on social media. By the end of the internship, I was focused on the physical parts of branding such as the logo and on building a customer profile.
Because this was my first internship, there was a lot of trial and error. Depending on what I was working on, I could make as many as five or six versions that would be carefully edited and critiqued. I never thought of myself as someone who could take criticism well, but working under Maggie really helped me appreciate constructive criticism. I also learned a lot about time management and how to lead a healthy work-life balance. Since the internship was remote, I had to figure out how to get my work done in a timely manner without the actual physical presence of my boss. I was also required to fill out a timesheet where I had to specify the exact projects I was working on during my hours. This forced me to be mindful of my time efficiency and I applied the same logic to my school work as well.
All things considered, I really enjoyed this internship. I developed important skills which carried over into my current job, and I learned to have a lot of faith in my own skills. Although the remote aspect was ideal with my school schedule, I wish that I could have worked on a larger team and bounced ideas off a few more people. Although I enjoyed this internship, I will say that working with family members or close friends is very tricky. I doubt if in the future I would choose to work with family again. This internship was definitely interesting and I’m excited to work in social media even more!