Published on Jul 10, 2024

Hello. My name is Ana Bailey. I am a blog creator for Mizzou’s Career Center and a student at the University of Missouri. I am currently pursuing a degree in digital storytelling with a minor in journalism. This summer I started a marketing internship with the organization, Special Olympics Kansas. This internship has helped me show my skills in a real world setting, which has been very exciting.

Starting a new position can be nerve racking, but the workers at Special Olympics Kansas were incredibly kind and welcoming. The first week of the internship involved a lot of training and I met the other members of the team. I also met my mentor, Ken, who is the communications coordinator for Special Olympics Kansas.Ken was my first point of contact if I had any issues and he  guided me on what my role was as a marketing intern..While I worked with Special Olympics Kansas, I was put in charge of creating social media posts, making promotional videos (such as animations and hype videos), and updating the website with events and information. Along with that, I would join weekly meetings with the whole team to discuss my progress on projects and help with brainstorming for promotional events and programs. 

The internship at Special Olympics Kansas taught me numerous things about the professional world of marketing. I felt the drive to produce the best of work, so I found myself challenging myself to learn new skills and techniques in Adobe Suite. I also appreciated that my mentor helped guide me through what task I was doing while still giving me full creative control over most projects. This included one project, where I created a hype video for  Special Olympics Kansas in which I storyboarded, shot, and edited the whole project. 

To make sure that the content I created matched seamlessly with the brand, I often checked  the Special Olympics’s brand guide. The guide showed what kind of iconography and symbols represented the company. This included fonts, shapes, hex codes, brand phrases, and mission statements. In previous classes, my professors had shown examples of this, but utilizing the guide felt completely different. 

Before I left  Special Olympics Kansas, I made sure that I reached out to each member of the team and thanked them for their kindness. I also took some time aside to ask my mentor, Ken, if I could have him as one of my refrences for future positions. He was my first mentor and I am very appreciative of the time he took out of his day to advise me.

Internships are a great opportunity to get connected with your career up close and personal. Seeing how people in the field work with others atthe same company was very eye opening and informative. I also gained experience and work that I can put onto my portfolio in the future. 

If you are considering an internship for the fall or spring, go for it! It can get your connected to professionals and offer a new perspective on your field of study. It is also important to have experience on your resume right out of college. If you’re not sure where to look, check out Handshake for opportunities. Handshake is a job-searching website for employers looking for students, so it is ideal for Mizzou students.