Humanities Internship Spotlight
Sami Worthington | Randall William Karrington, Jr. | Mia Klaes
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.
I worked as a Commercial Marketing Intern at iFIT. Over the course of the internship, I had the opportunity to contribute to several impactful projects, including assisting with the development of pitch decks used to present strategic partnerships to potential clients. This experience strengthened my communication and design skills, as I learned how to tailor content to specific audiences and visually present key marketing insights in a compelling way. I also supported athlete-focused social media campaigns, specifically for U.S. Ski Team members who use Freemotion equipment—an experience that was especially meaningful to me as both a skier and a marketing student.
The internship gave me a hands-on look into how brand partnerships and athlete endorsements come to life behind the scenes. I saw firsthand how strategic messaging, visual storytelling, and brand alignment are essential components of commercial marketing. Working with the iFIT team allowed me to apply classroom concepts to real-world campaigns, while also gaining valuable insights into the collaborative nature of marketing within a large organization. These experiences deepened my interest in pursuing a career in marketing after graduation, and I was grateful for the skills and connections I built through the internship.
I wanted to do something local for my internship, and that was how I found Slopes Bio. Slopes is a laboratory in Salt Lake City that specializes in genetic testing. They needed help with inventory management and developing a new inventory system. I enjoy organizing things, and that interest aligned well with the internship.
The courses I took during the fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters prepared me for this internship and my career. This internship prepared me for my next steps and taught me a lot. It was important to gain experience in an office environment and develop problem-solving and communication skills. I thoroughly enjoyed helping develop a new inventory system; I had taken a product management class a few semesters prior, which proved useful.
There were always puzzles that needed solving, which I liked and I would definitely do this again, as I felt it was a valuable experience. Maintaining a school/work/life balance was very important. I am still working on it even after my internship, but the advice I would give to students is to create a checklist of goals for the week or tasks that need to be completed—it made things a lot easier.
Cedar Summerstock was created in 2017; it is a theatre company that puts on four shows a summer and holds cabarets and community events throughout the season. I have participated in Cedar Summerstock Theater in every way I could since it started. When planning my summer semester, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to do an internship; the question always revolved around what internship to do. It was incredibly convenient that this company was open for internships, and they wanted a communications intern. I am extremely passionate about theater, so that aspect of this internship was a plus. I got to spend my summer surrounded by theater, talking, and interacting with hundreds of community members.
As a Communication Studies student, my focus was not on marketing, so the internship was centered around audience feedback and understanding what advertising and marketing were working for the company, and what was not. I’ve always excelled in communication and speaking to others in large groups or in more interpersonal settings, so this internship gave me a great opportunity to use and refine those skills.
This internship was such a great time, and I worked on a couple of large projects. My first was an interactive survey. Our first show was for a younger audience, so I had a fun survey where the kids could put a bead in a jar corresponding to the question: “How did you find out about Cedar Summerstock Theater?” We used many forms of advertising, so there were around 10 jars to choose from. The survey was obviously not the most accurate, but it gave us a general idea of what worked best. I also did a giveaway for the first show of the summer. To enter, the audience member had to sign up for the quarterly newsletter. We used this to strategize sharing information. The giveaway also allowed me to practice my public speaking and communicate my message quickly and concisely since the crowd was always moving.
I created a detailed survey with a QR code for my second project. The QR code was in the program for the whole season and had questions regarding what shows they saw or were going to see, how they heard of Cedar Summerstock Theater, and what their experience was with the company. I thought this was a fantastic idea, but I didn’t get as many responses as I would’ve liked, especially in proportion to our crowd sizes. I think the biggest cause of the minimal responses was that I didn’t get to choose where the QR code went on the program, so it ended up being very small, and on the back page of the booklet. I don’t think anyone was aware of the survey, so to solve this problem, I spoke to the artistic director, and she was going to announce the survey before the shows, and hopefully, response rates will go up.
I would love to do an internship again. This one was great, but I can’t wait to see what other internships are out there. Strategic scheduling was the most significant thing in getting through my internship while maintaining a work-life-student balance. I constantly checked my due dates and blocked out times to work on homework. It felt a little stressful at times but if I stuck to my schedule, everything ended up how it was planned. I would recommend that everyone schedule as much as possible and try to commit to that schedule. Procrastination is a big obstacle in balancing work, life, and school, and I could not afford to put things off. I’ve had a great time with my internship.
