Hometown: Clarkston, MI
Major and class standing: English, Graduated
Where you interned at: Scalabrini Institute for Human Mobility in Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
What was your internship title and role/responsibilities?
As an admin and communications intern, I was responsible for creating 3-5 social media posts on many different platforms each week. I would post current news articles revolving around migration in Africa and the world. I would also post “Did you know?” Slides that inform people about different types of migration and migration trends. I would also collaborate with blog posts or write them myself. Once a month I would post a press review with twelve articles related to migration that were national, regional, and international to South Africa. I would also attend bi-weekly meetings that involved all the team members, including myself, filling each other in on what we were working on.
How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?
I used the Glibal Remote Internship program through MSU to find this internship, which connected me with connect123 that was able to find me a placement at SIHMA.
What did your daily routine include?
My daily routine varies depending on the post that was due that day. Some days I would be looking at current event articles to find one to post on certain social media platforms. Other days I would do research and create a PowerPoint to post relating to migration. On other days, I would work on the press review for the month or a blog post and edit them until they were due then submit them to my supervisor. Every other Monday, I would wake up for our bi-weekly meetings and share what I was working on with the rest of the SIHMA team.
Your favorite experience from the internship?
I would say my favorite experience from the internship was learning so much about an issue I had never heard of before. I also really enjoyed getting to know people from across the world and letting them teach me what they know about migration in Africa.
What was your least favorite part of the internship?
I would say my least favorite part was the extra responsibility on top of my schoolwork. It became stressful at times juggling everything and making sure I was keeping deadlines but it was worth it overall.
What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?
I improved upon so many different skills, including my professionalism, communication skills, writing skills, research skills, as well as social media platform skills.
What did you learn about the industry or your career path as a result of the internship? What are your future plans?
I learned a lot more about writing and how to do so in a more professional setting for my future career. My future plans are to go to law school so this internship also informed me on many human rights issues I did not know about that could come up in my future career.
What advice do you have for other students seeking out internship opportunities?
I would just give them the advice of staying on top of tasks and working on your time management skills to make sure you can handle all of the workload at once.
