September 9, 2024 Student Ambassador Blog: Cooper Smitherman, Senior Psychology & English Major Are you worried about finding an internship relevant to your program of study? I was once in your shoes! However, I have worked at Communication and Culture, LLC, for the past four months and enjoyed every second. Last April, I started my current position as the Social Media Intern at Communication and Culture. Over the summer, I worked to build a coherent social media strategy to grow the company鈥檚 presence as a leading local voice in public health. While I did not have experience managing social media, I obtained many valuable and transferable skills in my coursework that have helped me along the way, especially in the beginning. I started by using what little experience I had to create simple graphics in Canva, like the one below: I posted this graphic in June to show the company鈥檚 support for Men鈥檚 Health Month. I provided general advice about how viewers could regularly and consistently support men鈥檚 health. I had never created a TikTok, let alone an entire social media strategy. However, I had a great amount of experience in academic research and writing after participating in a psychology lab for three years and working under the direction of Dr. Alanna Frost in the 2023 RCEU Program at UAH. Additionally, I have taken courses such as EH 301 (Honors Technical Writing), EH 340 (Academic Writing), and EH 410 (Fiction Writing) to improve my writing prowess in technical and entertainment capacities. While this graphic is far from my best work at this point, it was serviceable for the expertise level I possessed at the time, taught me several things about creating effective graphics, and, most importantly, brought in numerous new followers on LinkedIn and Instagram. Leveraging your existing skills is one of the primary ways you can set yourself apart from other candidates as you apply for different roles. Learning to adapt these skills to new situations is key to finding confidence and building your skills in areas where you鈥檙e inexperienced. Because I was able to showcase these transferable skills to my bosses who, luckily, allowed me to learn and grow on the job, I have become more skilled in social media content creation and marketing strategies than I ever would have thought possible. I have grown from creating graphics like the one above to short-form informational video content for the company鈥檚 Instagram and TikTok accounts. Another detail that can lift your experience and ability is coming into an internship with true passion. Before my internship, my studies centered around Indigenous rhetorics, which appeared to have little to do with public health and organizational health communications. However, I quickly found that these studies, centered around sensitivity in communications, translated perfectly to improving health communications. My bosses knew I was passionate about my writing actively contributing to social justice efforts, so they knew I would learn all I could about public health to succeed in the position. Over the course of 4 months, I set a posting schedule that revolved around weekly themes, generated ideas for an ongoing blog series for which I even wrote two articles, and significantly increased the company鈥檚 reach, views, interactions, and following on LinkedIn, TikTok, and Instagram (however I鈥檝e also realized it鈥檚 a slower process than I expected). I credit my work to adapting my existing skills to this new domain, as well as to my incredible bosses who let me work whatever hours will fit my busy schedule! Here I am in my 鈥渙ffice鈥� (my desk in my bedroom) right after posting on Communication and Culture鈥檚 Instagram. Once the summer ended, they asked me to stay with the company in the same capacity, which I gladly accepted. Currently, I鈥檓 revamping the posting schedule to focus on more video content (and will submit an Instagram Reel for a local contest very soon). My bosses are also finishing work on a second book in their children鈥檚 book series, and I will be helping to market the book within the Huntsville community. Before this internship, I was uncertain about my ability to find work outside of academia. I thought my interests were too niche to apply to a wider setting and would limit myself to only pursuing work in these areas. I鈥檓 here to tell you that, with enough passion and enough transferable skills such as writing, editing, and idea generation, you too can find a place that will appreciate your efforts, meet you where you are at, and provide you with a productive atmosphere for growth and learning. I encourage every reader to visit the upcoming CAHS Career Fair (September 13th) to help you on your work journey, whether it鈥檚 finding an internship or exploring your interests. Additionally, keep an eye out for updates from Ms. Nicole McDavid, our Career Coordinator, on the and and reach out to her for any questions you have about finding your career fit. These updates, after all, are how I discovered my internship opportunity! I hope this article helps you find direction on your academic journey, and feel free to email me at rcs0024@uah.edu to ask any questions about my experiences!
