Humanities Internship Spotlight
Indie Bulkley | Jihan Lim | Emmy Mallick
| Katie Pollack | Lindsey Peters
Humanities students gain valuable, career-ready skills through their coursework and co-curricular programs. Internships offer an essential opportunity to apply these skills in real-world settings, explore potential career paths, and gain professional experience. For many students, completing an internship is a key step in successfully transitioning from college to the workplace.
Indie Bulkley
Major(s): Gender Studies, Psychology
Internship: Quest, University of Utah
Role: Quest Leadership Intern
I found my internship because my favorite professor from last year asked me to apply for the position. I was drawn to the position because I needed the internship credit and it seemed like a good way to gain more experience. My position is a leadership intern for the new Quest program here at the U. My biggest responsibility is to plan and host events for students within the program. There are over 10 other interns I work with, so the environment is collaborative. The biggest challenge I've faced is that I broke my foot at the beginning of the semester, so I had to navigate my position a bit differently because I've been less mobile than normal. Luckily my supervisor has been super accommodating so I've still been able to keep the position.
Another obstacle I've faced is navigating collaboration with others in event planning and management environments. The interns are responsible for these tasks and coming up with ideas for the program. There's a lot of freedom when it comes to this, which has been nice but also at times a bit stressful when pressure is applied. Because this is the first year of the program, there's been a lot of trial and error. I've liked being in a position that is adaptable because it gives me room to adjust based on how successful/ unsuccessful things are. So far, it's been a great learning experience.
During my internship in the marketing department, I got to experience the day-to-day of the job, which is exactly what I'm aiming for with my own business down the road. I was drawn to this internship because I wanted to understand how marketing strategies are developed and executed in a real-world setting. I learned how to do everything from market research to planning social media content. I learned how to study audience behavior and adjust my communication to meet specific brand goals. This experience helped me see how creativity and data-driven insights come together to shape effective marketing campaigns.
I helped my team by developing campaigns and managing promotional content that increased brand visibility. I worked closely with the team to come up with ideas, keep an eye on how people were engaging, and make suggestions for improvement based on what the audience was telling us. One of the best parts of my experience was seeing how my ideas actually led to real marketing results. I faced some challenges, like tight deadlines and juggling a lot of tasks, but I learned to stay organized, communicate clearly, and adapt quickly to new priorities.
Emmy Mallick
Major(s): Communication
Minor: Health
Internship: University of Utah Hockey
Role: Social Media Manager
Growing up in Ontario, Canada, I have been surrounded by hockey and skating my whole life. Following the Toronto Maple Leaves, and now the Seattle Kraken has given my family an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the sport, which is why I was originally interested in this internship! That, mixed with my love for working with other students to create a strong face for these amazing teams, is why I love it so much!
So far, my favorite part of this internship has been media day. It was so fun to get behind-the-scenes content with the other interns. We put our ideas together to create fun and lighthearted content for the team. My favorite video we made for their social media was the 'Media Day Behind the Scenes' which captured the fun, goofy side of the players that you don't get to see through their professional headshots.
Katie Pollack
Major(s): Communication
Internship: Emily Blair Media
Role: Social Media/Events Intern
My internship at Emily Blair Media, which is a Public Relations Firm in Los Angeles, has been such an eye-opening and great experience for my career in the future, and has been a big step in learning about communications and the media. I wanted to intern for this company because I've always wanted to learn how brands utilize social media to connect with people and how those people shape a brand's image. Although I'm working remotely in Utah, I've gotten a lot of hands-on experience and brought my skills to the company. I've written and created captions for different content creators, monetizing their social media accounts on Instagram, liking and commenting on posts, and engaging with different influencers and clients that the company represents. Learning about social media has allowed me to be creative and helped me learn a lot about the company.
The most helpful thing that I've learned is how to how to be professional and real at the same time online. Creating captions that feel natural and on brand made me think more deeply about how to connect with my target audience and get my messages across. It was also interesting to see how everyday tasks on social media, like commenting or sharing posts, help build relationships and public awareness. Overall, this job helped me learn more about PR and social media strategy, and it made me even more sure that I want to work in this field.
My internship experience thus far has been amazing. I am interning for a nonprofit called Young Life. It is a worldwide Christian organization that focuses on building relationships with middle school, high school, and college students to help them explore faith and life in a supportive community. I intern for Young Life Park City, working specifically with the high school. I work on social media, communications, and event planning, and collaborate with local and regional staff to help spread the Gospel. I also have a Zoom call each week regionally with the other interns in the High West Region. What drew me to this internship was its alignment with my goals and beliefs. I had started volunteering for Young Life this June, when, after one month, they asked if I would like to be on staff by being an intern. This experience is so I can see if I enjoy working in this sector, as well as for them to see if I would be a good fit for this area. I have learned so much already.
Recently, I started working on a project for them where I am creating an end-of-year video for all the donors to Park City Young Life. It has been fun being able to collaborate on this with the other staff members and learn a different style of video communications that I have not done before. I have enjoyed this because they have let me take the reins creatively with this video. I got to create a vision for how I wanted the video to look, and I got to start filming it last week. Overall, this internship has been a really great experience, and I have learned a ton about this type of work in ministry. I am so glad I took this opportunity, so I can see if it is something that would be a good job for me in the future.
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Any views, experiences, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this student internship highlight do not necessarily represent those of the College of Humanities.