Hometown: Kalamazoo, MI
Major and class standing: English
Instagram: charity._williams
Where you interned: Birchwood Farms Golf & Country Club, Harbor Springs, MI
What was your internship title and role/responsibilities?
I was an Internal Email Marketing & Promotions Specialist for Birchwood Farms Country Club in Harbor Springs, MI. I would produce and execute all Club departmental email campaigns, including building emails, copywriting, quality assurance, and scheduling to drive member engagement in club activities and events throughout the 2024 summer season. I would also write/create engaging copy and content for email newsletters, website pages, and promotional flyers to promote each Club department; including Golf, Racquets, Food & Beverage, and Club events. I worked with Departments to optimize general email creative content and email template structure based on best practices.
How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?
I worked at Birchwood as a department head in 2022 and 2023. The club wanted me to return for the 2024 season as the pool director. I stressed the need for an internship; they then evaluated where they could use me and created an internship based on my career goals.
What did your daily routine include?
My daily routine was very different depending on what week, and what day we were discussing – however, usually I began my day at 9:00 am lifeguarding the pool, or giving swim lessons until about noon. On Tuesday I usually would meet with my internship supervisor and discuss what the weekly emails should look like. Every other day I would usually begin working on the emails at about 12:00 or 1:00 pm and work on them for a few hours. Around 3:00 pm I tend to cover breaks for lifeguards for about 30 minutes – 1 hour. Then I will usually work on pool management before heading home for the day. Oftentimes I would work on my internship emails from home for about an hour or two. The majority of the internship gets done by Friday, but occasionally we would be behind on the emails and I would work on them over the weekend.
Your favorite experience from the internship?
My favorite experience from my internship is probably when I made the 4th of July email. The email that I sent out or Independence Day had separate tiles for each event happening throughout the week, as well as I got to make flyers and publish events on the website, etc. I felt like I had a lot of creative freedom that allowed for engagement on my end. Sometimes the internship felt very repetitive, and being able to create a whole new email kept my mind active.
What was your least favorite part of the internship?
My least favorite part of the internship was definitely how tedious it can become, as well as the overall function of the website. Sometimes the website itself would glitch and erase all the work I had been doing, making an already tedious task feel much more tedious.
What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?
I unexpectedly learned a lot about the interworkings of a business. I learned a lot about how different departments work together and how people within the same department communicate. Over the last three years at Birchwood, I have learned how to communicate effectively between coworkers, employees, guests, and members; this year alone has taught me an immense amount about how to communicate effectively.
What did you learn about the industry or your career path as a result of the internship? What are your future plans?
I learned that Internal Email Marketing & Promotions Specialist is not something that I can see myself doing for an extended period of time. I enjoyed it while I had the chance to, but now knowing how tedious some of the emails were, and keeping in mind that I want to be an editor, I know that I do not want to do anything within marketing. I would love to edit for a marketing representative, but I would not want to be the marketing representative as well as the editor.
What advice do you have for other students seeking out internship opportunities?
My biggest piece of advice is to always work hard in every workplace and show your initiative and desire to work. On top of that, also make connections and keep those connections intact throughout your time in college, or even your career. Connections are very helpful when looking for an internship, the connections may be able to offer you an internship or send you in the right direction.
