Some of these internships are taking place at various companies and organizations, while others are happening on the 91福利社 campus.听

The 91福利社 Office of Marketing and Communication relies on several interns to help things run smoothly, while at the same time preparing them to enter the workforce. They learn about working together to achieve goals; also working with clients across 91福利社 on actual projects. In short, they鈥檙e putting what they鈥檝e learned from their class assignments to the real-world test.听

Having led Global marketing organizations in lead roles throughout her career, 91福利社 Vice President of Marketing and Communication Deonn Baker hired and worked with world-class marketing talent during her career. Baker听feels that the interns working in the Office of Marketing and Communication are first-rate. 听

鈥淲e have intentionally crafted for career-readiness,” Baker said. 鈥淔or example, I met with each student and discussed their future goals. Based on where they want to go after graduation, we have curated projects to give them relevant exposure to develop skill sets needed. We鈥檝e also incorporated career coaching, contract guidance for freelance work, how to negotiate salary or rates into our student experiences.鈥�听

Callie Joldersma, a Graphic Design major and Marketing minor from Rock Hill, South Carolina, appreciates the variety of design projects she鈥檚 been able to work on for clients. In addition to individual projects, she鈥檚 been working on a summer-long project alongside interns Rebekah Smith and Braelyn Boggs.听听

听鈥淪o far, I have made brochures, newsletters, posters and t-shirt designs. I also completed a mentor equipping guide booklet for Women鈥檚 Ministry,鈥� Joldersma said. 鈥淭his internship is my first introduction to working in the field of design and has been a helpful experience. It has allowed me to intertwine skills in graphic design, marketing and photography. Each project presents different needs that we must cater to, and I am thankful for this opportunity to continue gaining experience with creative problem-solving. Client interaction is another area I have enjoyed as I seek to serve them best through my work.鈥澨�听

Smith, a Graphic Design major from Delaware, said, 鈥淚 went to a public high school and developed a passion for art very early on in between playing sports. My passion for graphic design was mostly through senior year. I really enjoyed drawing and learning about digital media with some wonderful art teachers. In projects I found that graphic design was the pathway I was hoping to take in college.鈥�听

Smith has done many projects in Adobe Illustrator, which she says is her favorite design software.听

“I worked on association brochures, a Teaching Fellows hinged book and some digital signage for summer camps and programs here at AU,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淚 really appreciate how the team works together. My supervisors are Anna Potter and Kristin Fereira. They oversee our work and assign us projects. They trust our process and they trust our skills, and that allows for more self-discipline throughout this process… I rely on the other interns for suggestions and critique and for my own abilities to trust that I鈥檓 doing the work that my client needs.鈥澨�听

Smith added, 鈥淚 see a lot of similarities in the work that I鈥檝e done throughout college, predominantly because our professors taught us design principles and processes to follow, from ideation to designing, but I would say more of the work that I do in class is for grades and here we鈥檙e producing projects at a faster pace and it鈥檚 less of the ideation and more of the making.鈥�听

Boggs, a Graphic Design major from Greenwood, South Carolina, has spent her internship working on branding projects and graphics for social media posts and stories.听听听

She says her internship gives her an opportunity to work on many different types of projects and also learning the type of graphic design work she enjoys the most.听

鈥淏ecause graphic design has so many different job avenues, getting the chance to work on different types of projects and work with different clients is very helpful,鈥� Boggs said. 鈥淚t’s rewarding to see the hard work that I put in during the school year pay off when the design process for creating a brand feels like second nature now. I鈥檓 learning to be confident in my decision making as a designer. This is my first time working with real clients.鈥�听

As a social media intern, Gillian Thompson, a rising senior double majoring in Public Relations and Costume Design from Mills River, North Carolina, works closely with Associate Director of Communications Caroline Cothran on social media planning and strategy.听听

鈥淚 started working in the Office of Marketing and Communications my second semester of my freshman year as a content creator and host. I was on a team of about six students. We work with Caroline to make all of the content that you see on pretty much every platform we鈥檙e on鈥擨nstagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest鈥攁ll of those places,” said Thompson, who also minors in Digital Media. 鈥淲e make all the content… in order to make sure we鈥檙e communicating everything to students, parents, alumni, faculty and staff…听 We鈥檒l brainstorm content together, write captions, edit videos and publish them for approval.鈥�听

When asked about her career goals, Thompson said, 鈥�I鈥檓 leaning towards social media management and I want to work for a production agency that has either an opening in social media management or in wardrobing. Thompson has worked on productions for the South Carolina School of the Arts at 91福利社.听听

鈥淚 can do costumes for a play, but I really enjoy putting together normal outfits, things people would wear when hosting their podcast or news show. I would love to help them design their wardrobe,” Thompson said.鈥� It really depends on what God opens up for me first.鈥�听

Zoe’ Howell, a senior Art major from Columbia, South Carolina, with a concentration in Painting and Drawing and a minor in Communications, fell in love with the campus, atmosphere and the people at Anderson.听听

“I participated in the scholarship competition for the Diversity and Leadership program and saw my potential as a leader in my craft and community,” Howell said. 鈥淎 few more months of earning more scholarships and good grades in high school and I found myself on board to becoming a Trojan in 2021.鈥澨�听

Howell is currently working as a photography editor for images taken for the Office of Marketing and Communication.听听听

鈥淚 work remotely but have fun working on projects that involve using applications like Adobe Lightroom,鈥� Howell said. 鈥淏eing in AU helped me rekindle my love for creative digital projects as well as art, and I hope to one day merge those two loves for my future career. This internship helps me see the ways that I can edit through both a creative and professional lens… More importantly, this job is a good way to see how a working environment can be productive and fun at the same time.鈥澨�听

Howell added, 鈥淚鈥檝e worked with Lightroom before, but it鈥檚 nice to learn new tricks to it that involve utilizing AI… (responsibly, of course), I can use it to make great edits. I鈥檓 also learning how to work in a more professional environment, which is exciting and informative for my future.”听听

Annie Vo, a Painting and Drawing major from Simpsonville, South Carolina, is interning as a photographer, covering summer camps and 91福利社鈥檚 Base Camp.听

“The biggest thing that I learned so far is to not be afraid of making mistakes,鈥� Vo said. 鈥淲hen I first started photography, I was hesitant to take photos because I was worrying over getting the perfect photos. However, I realize that I cannot hesitate when I must take photos as events go by quickly, so I must take the shots even if it鈥檚 not exactly perfect.鈥�听

Though many Marketing and Communication interns are in communication-related degree programs, Gardner Wilson is an Electrical Engineering major. Wilson, who comes from the Anderson-Clemson area, is gaining experience editing photos and videos to be posted online.听听

鈥淲hile video editing itself is not directly applicable to my major, there exists another component which is common among nearly every job: people. Learning to communicate one’s thoughts, working through scheduling, and applying constructive criticism given by others are skills that can be taken anywhere,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淚 have a tendency to strive for perfection, for better or worse. As a more analytical person, I am finding great merit in exploring this creative outlet due to the fact that much of it is not made of concretes and absolutes. While guidelines do exist, there are often multiple ways to achieve the same end result. Coming to grips with this fact has been one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of this experience.”听

As one of the internship supervisors, Cothran has found that student employees and interns and not just helpful, but invaluable.听听

鈥淚 am constantly inspired and encouraged by the caliber of students we have in our office. They end up becoming just as much a part of the team as our full-time staff, and I heavily rely on them for ideas and assistance. I feel comfortable delegating tasks because I am 100 percent confident they are up to the task. Our expectations for them in the summer are not small, and they rise to the challenge every day,” Cothran said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so proud to know them, and will forever be thankful for the opportunity to mentor them as they grow in their God-given callings.鈥�听

鈥淲e are blessed by each one of these students. Their input, talent and ideas make AU stronger and a great place to work,” Baker said. 鈥淲e pray that God uses this experience to help prepare them for all God has created them to be.鈥�听

The post Marketing and Communication Interns Experience Relevant Career Training appeared first on 91福利社.

After a welcome from College of Business Dean Steve Nail was an awards presentation. Parker Finch of Core Financial Resources received the Innovative Project Involvement Award and Mariam Bayatyan received Outstanding Intern for her work with CVS Health. Samantha Stec with with M枚lnlycke Health Care US was named Outstanding Supervisor, BDO USA was recognized for their excellence in remote work, Boeing was recognized for their distinguished internship program, Coca-Cola Consolidated was recognized for their impactful community initiatives, and ScanSource was recognized for their unwavering partnership.

The Spring Networking Event will take place January 26, 2024. Companies interested in participating in January can register at .

The post College of Business Fall Networking Event and Internship Recognition appeared first on 91福利社.

Internships are a huge part of the 91福利社 student experience.听

Summer is a time for students to move out of the classroom and practice what they鈥檝e learned in a professional setting. These media communication majors represent a variety of internship experiences.

Morgan Lane

Morgan Lane, a student in the Communication Department of the College of Arts and Sciences at 91福利社, is a social media intern at Crawford, a Greenville-based full service marketing and branding agency.

Lane, a rising senior studying digital communications, works closely with the Crawford team managing social media accounts, planning content and developing strategies for a broad variety of clients.听At 91福利社, Lane serves as President of the university鈥檚 Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter and is the social media manager for the campus recreation and fitness department.

When asked how she became interested in communications, Lane said it wasn鈥檛 her choice at first.

鈥淚 wanted to do nursing for a long time. I got into my first nursing class and knew it was not for me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 got into communications after I realized that all my hobbies are communications related and I could actually make a career out of it. I always loved making videos and editing videos鈥擨 would do that for fun in high school. I would make social media pages for different clubs and groups I was involved with and I think whenever I got to college I realized I can do this thing that I love and have it be my job.鈥�

Lane loves the nature of her work for Crawford; no two days are the same. She enjoys being able to sit in on meetings and working with a variety of clients that run the gamut from healthcare to tourism鈥攅ven churches. She especially appreciates the valuable mentorship her internship supervisor provides.

During this internship, Lane鈥檚 fascination with the data side of social media has grown.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been very interesting to be able to see how a social media strategy is developed and be able to implement that and just be able to actually have hard data and numbers that inform decisions that explain why you do what you do in social media strategy.鈥�

Lane says studying digital communications at 91福利社 has helped her step right into the internship.

鈥淚 am so glad I went to AU. Without it, I would have had such a different trajectory. I think I have been so blessed to have amazing professors, like professor (Robert) Reeves and professor (Bobby) Rettew, who are just so passionate, have such knowledge and being able to work with them.鈥�

Cade Tessmann

Cade Tessmann, a public relations major and rising senior in the Communication Department of the College of Arts and Sciences at 91福利社, has been doing a marketing and public relations internship for the city of Anderson. A self-described people person, he enjoys his many interactions, making connections and organizing events.

鈥淚 really like to be able to meet new people and build my repertoire of contacts and help them, however they need me,鈥� Tessmann said.

Tessmann feels his education at 91福利社 has helped him go into his internship well-prepared.

鈥淲hen I do something in my job, it鈥檚 like 鈥榥ow that I think about it, we learned something similar in class,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚n my public relations classes, we learned how we should use public relations and how it will affect the people, then I do something in my internship and it all sort of plays back into my studies.鈥�

91福利社 has offered Tessmann many different avenues to expand himself. For example, being involved in PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) and student government association (SGA) have been beneficial.

鈥淚鈥檓 on the executive board (of SGA); that helped me get a job with the city,鈥� Tessmann said. 鈥淎U offers a lot of different opportunities that, as long as you鈥檙e willing to utilize them, they can help you in all aspects of your life.鈥�

Tessmann has been involved with the Anderson Area Reconciliation and Remembrance initiative, creating a website and being involved in the planning for a Juneteenth event. His job has variety. One day he might be photographing and documenting various lots around Anderson or spending time with youngsters at the Westside Community Center.

鈥淪ocial media wise, I spent time with the city of Anderson and the police department鈥檚 social media people and figured out the analytics they use, how they monitor that, what posts are allowed or not, and how often they post. There鈥檚 a lot to learn,鈥� Tessmann said. 鈥淭he more I learn about Anderson, the better it helps me with my job and I can better relate to the people in the city.鈥�

Tessmann says his internship is extending into the new academic year. He hopes to work in municipal government鈥攑ossibly in Anderson鈥攚hen he graduates.

Ellie Yandle

A rising senior from Charlotte, North Carolina, Ellie Yandle pursued her personal interest in Christian standup comedy to land a unique internship.

Yandle, who excelled in public speaking competitions in high school, initially thought of majoring in public relations. During her first semester at 91福利社, she became more interested in digital media.

鈥淚鈥檓 still unsure of what exactly I want to do with that, but I know that I really want to get into entertainment. I know it takes a lot of different forms, but I think clean entertainment is really viable,鈥� said Yandle, who recently started listening more to podcasts from Christian comedians.

Though she thought it would be a longshot, Yandle emailed some of her favorite comedians, offering to help them with their social media. She finally heard back from the oldest daughter of comedian John Branyan, who works with her father. (Branyan鈥檚 daughters, Amanda McKinny and Tabitha Farcus, both happen to be media communication graduates from a different institution.)

鈥淪he reached out and said 鈥榶ou know, we鈥檝e never had an intern before, but that sounds cool. We鈥檒l give it a try.鈥� I remember thinking this can鈥檛 be real and this is really happening,鈥� Yandle said.

Yandle was put in charge of Branyan鈥檚 Instagram account, which had gotten less attention than Branyan鈥檚 other social media platforms. She has been focusing on Instagram Reels while putting her video editing skills to work, posting video clips from his standup routines and podcasts鈥攁lso promoting upcoming events.

鈥淗e has a weekly live show with a couple of other comics. I鈥檒l post little bits of that and sometimes I鈥檒l do my own little illustrations or doodles to kind of liven up the video itself,鈥� Yandle said. 鈥淥ne of my main goals was just to represent what he鈥檚 doing well鈥� I would love for his brand to look uniform across all platforms and still active.鈥�

These days Branyan does less standup comedy and more speaking and preaching engagements, but there鈥檚 a lot of video content Yandle wants to introduce to a new audience following him on Instagram.

Most helpful for Yandle has been her class in Photoshop and InDesign in the Communication Department of the College of Arts and Science. Yandle鈥檚 internship is still going on, and she finds time to do work on her own comedy material.

Grace Matthews

A rising senior from Hartsville, South Carolina, Grace Matthews loves producing fast-paced, high energy video content. The daughter of a journalist, she has been fascinated with the media from a young age.

Matthews, a digital marketing major with a minor in marketing, has been spending her summer as a videographer for summer camps in the mountains of northern Greenville County. For her internship with Look Up Lodge, Matthews daily follows campers, capturing their activity.

鈥淚 partner with our photographer. We both do our content together and help each other out,鈥� Matthews said.

Look Up Lodge has 14 camps throughout the summer. They offer kids camps and teen camps.

鈥淚 go around and take videos of kids and teens doing activities throughout the week, such as chapel, group recreation and pretty much anything fun that they鈥檙e doing. I use all of that and make the weekly recap video that they watch on their departure day,鈥� Matthews said.

She has also done videos of skits and a staff intro video that gets played at the beginning of each camp. Matthews enjoys the challenge of capturing camp moments with her DSLR (camera) and uses a GoPro camera for action shots at Look Up Lodge鈥檚 water slide, zip line or swings.

鈥淚 enjoy interacting with the children, hanging out with them and getting to know them, and also getting to know our summer staff and getting to capture what it looks like with their lives into a video so other people can see and maybe want to come to camp,鈥� Matthews said.

Matthews, who has loved sports all her life, hopes to work in the sports media as a videographer.

鈥淚 would like to do hype videos for a sports team, maybe at a university level or high school level鈥攋ust getting to capture the action,鈥� she said.

91福利社 Department of Communication

The 91福利社 Department of Communication prepares students to handle the lightning-quick arena of transmitting ideas via words, videos and more and offers a concentration in Digital Media or Public Relations. Learn more about the Department of Communication online.

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Among the stars, I scribbled prayers in a leather-bound journal.

I was squished in a middle seat en route to South Africa. As I settled in for a 16-hour flight, I marveled that I was being entrusted to hold hands with children across the world and listen to their stories.

Last summer, I served as a communications intern for , an international relief organization. I spent the majority of my time at a desk overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains at its international headquarters in Boone, North Carolina, but one of my highlights of the internship was traveling to write about shoebox distributions in South Africa.

, a project of Samaritan鈥檚 Purse, sends shoeboxes full of toys packed by families in North America to children across the world. My team traveled to Durban, a coastal town at the southernmost tip of Africa. We visited five shoebox distribution sites throughout the week.

Before they received their shoebox, children heard the Gospel. In rural churches across Durban, children bowed their heads to pray鈥攓uietly and sincerely. As I saw their eyes flutter and their hands fold, Acts 1:8 echoed in my mind:听to the ends of the earth. This prayer was repeatedly the most sacred moment of all. Even though I flew across the sea as a writer, no words can fully capture the beauty of their faith.

Then, cries of sheer joy. Samaritan’s Purse overwhelmed the small churches as children received their gift, a physical reminder of God鈥檚 gift of grace. As the kids opened their boxes, I knelt on the ground beside them, flipped open my notebook and listened to their stories. Countless times, kids received exactly what they had prayed for in their boxes.

Operation Christmas Child is just one of a plethora of projects that Samaritan鈥檚 Purse juggles. Samaritan鈥檚 Purse provides disaster relief in the U.S. and internationally; operates emergency field hospitals; offers agricultural and vocational training programs in rural villages; provides clean water in developing countries; ministers to military couples; helps children receive heart surgery; and more. In all of its projects, the organization shares the Gospel.

I worked alongside about 30 other interns, including a friend from AU, assisting various departments at headquarters. More than 30 additional interns served at field offices around the world. We learned and grew together, and we enjoyed the summer weekends in the mountains.

As a communications intern, I experienced a little piece of nearly every aspect of the ministry. Every day of my internship looked different. The overarching goal of my role was sharing how God was at work around the world. I wrote articles, helped with social media, worked with the media relations team, and even played a part in producing a podcast. I worked with a team of experienced writers who took time out of their busy schedules to invest in me.

When I sat at my desk to write, I wasn鈥檛 just writing for the sake of a good story. I was writing because I saw hopeless people finding hope. I saw pastors look over the horizon of their African village and pray desperately for every heart to know Jesus. I saw homeowners who lost everything in natural disasters but still trusted God鈥檚 promises as our teams picked up the broken pieces of their home. I saw God at work鈥攐ur God who is the same in Anderson and Africa.

This summer reminded me of why I chose 91福利社 and why I chose to major in creative writing. I don鈥檛 remember a time when I didn鈥檛 love writing. Writing is what God created me to do.

When I came to AU three years ago, I had a lot of passion and ambition, but I had no idea what it looked like to be a professional writer. Although I still have a tremendous amount of learning ahead, I have learned skills in craft and critical thinking.

At Anderson, I can personally connect with professors and receive a top-notch education in a Christian context. I have had professional opportunities on-campus and off-campus to implement what I have learned in the classroom. AU has helped me grow as a writer, but it has also given me space to develop my worldview and learn what my Christian faith looks like in the professional world.

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