Caiyin Liang

Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI
Major and class standing: Graphic Design, Senior
Instagram: Caiyin Liang
Where you interned: BASSETTI China, Shanghai, China

What was your internship title and role/responsibilities?
As a marketing/video editor with BASSETTI China, I learned communication skills and video editing skills during my internship. I gained a deeper understanding of the path in the marketing/video editing industry, exercised my communication skills, and learned the importance of communication.

How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?
Through the recommendation of an advisor, I learned that MSU College of Arts & Letters has a global remote internship program. In order to complete my graduation internship requirements and accumulate work experience, I chose to participate in this program.

What did your daily routine include?
My daily life includes taking oil painting classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, attending GD’s professional development courses, and arranging graduation exhibitions on Fridays. The rest of the time is used for internship (editing videos and writing WeChat articles)

Your favorite experience from the internship?
My favorite internship experience was the result of editing the Women’s Day blessing video. My supervisor praised my editing experience for greatly improving it. It was also the first time that I communicated with a merchant to order a large quantity of medals. This exercised my communication skills and taught me the importance of communication.

What was your least favorite part of the internship?
What I disliked the most during my internship was editing videos over and over again. While I know my supervisor wanted to pursue perfection in the final video, I wish she would have brought it all out from the beginning rather than bringing up some parts and then talking about other parts after I finished revising them. The final changes required the entire template to be re-edited, which made me feel like all the time before I spent editing the video was wasted.

What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?
I learned communication skills and video editing skills during my internship.

What did you learn about the industry or your career path as a result of the internship? What are your future plans?
Through the internship, I gained a deeper understanding of the path in the marketing/video editing industry, but I still wanted to stick to my major (Graphic Design) as my career path. My future plan is to find a job that matches my professional skills, and then after accumulating work experience, I want to continue my studies.

What advice do you have for other students seeking out internship opportunities?
My advice to other students seeking internship opportunities is to keep a calm mind and believe that through your own efforts, your results will be seen by everyone. Have confidence in yourself.