Name: Imani Spence

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Mindgrub Technologies | Title of Your Position: Associate Creative Copywriter (Marketing Intern)

Major(s)/Minor(s): Media and Communication Studies and English: Communication and Technology track

Expected Graduation Year: May 2016

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

I work on a lot of things at Mindgrub. The main focus of my position is doing research on potential clients that the company may contact as well as researching attendees for conferences that the President may attend. Sometimes I draft speech proposals for those conferences as well. I also keep up with all of their social media accounts, including LinkedIn to post relevant information on events, products and industry news.

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I found this internship through UMBCWorks. I applied with a resume, writing sample and Cover Letter then I had a phone interview. During that interview we talked about my prior experiences and what I hope to gain from the internship. Then I came in for an in-person interview and brought materials such as PDF versions of email newsletters I designed, video samples and graphic layouts.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Career Center, UMBCworks

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

Mindgrub is FULL of UMBC alum. I have been really lucky to talk to them about their experiences at UMBC and see how I can take my UMBC education further. The company culture is also super amazing. Mindgrub is really into Ping-Pong and the company is small enough that everyone knows each other and gets along fairly well.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

I learned how companies assess their potential client-base and what a typical workflow is like. In my last two internships I was the only intern, or the first intern, so working with other interns and within a process that already exists.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

GO TO THE CAREER CENTER. I have met with someone from the career center a few times and every time I go in a little panicked and confused, I come out with great ideas and I feel much better. The Career Center works so hard to make sure that every student has as many opportunities as possible, and it's part of their job to help you navigate the career search, USE THEM!

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

Apply for it all. I applied for about 15 internships before receiving this one, and the summer before I applied to about the same and got two different internships. Once you get the hang of the application process, it's easy.

Like this story on Facebook or FAV/RT on Twitter!

Like the Career Center on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

#UMBCintern