Catalina Correa

Describe the steps you took to obtain your internship/research opportunity/fellowship.

The semester before I wanted/needed an internship, I went on Handshake through FSU and started applying to a variety of internships.

How far in advance did you prepare and begin applying for your experiential learning opportunity?

I started applying to internships in the spring, and I was looking to land a fall internship. Seeing as I interviewed for, and secured my internship, in April with an August start date, I was prepared for my experiential learning opportunity four months in advance.

If you used any Career Center services, resources, or events to obtain your job offer, what were they? How did they support your application process?

I used Handshake. All of the jobs and opportunities I found, I found through there. Because of Handshake resource and services, I landed my internship and received several other interviews and offers as well. The process of using it is very simple and easy, and the different filters for searching for an internship made it even easier to narrow down what I wanted to find.

Describe some of your responsibilities or duties during your experiential learning opportunity.

My responsibilities included emailing and calling businesses/nonprofits/members/individuals, securing/confirming speakers/instructors/hosts/presenters, finding and contacting venues for events, securing photographers, setting up events, taking event displays down, creating promotional graphics and content for the events, posting the graphics online, setting up intern interviews, sharing internship applications and posting them openings online.

What was a typical day like "on the job?"

A typical day on the job at INIE consisted of reaching out to instructors/hosts/presenters, venues, and attendees in order to confirm and execute my company's educational classes. I was consistently emailing people or calling them, and working with the marketing intern to create graphics for the events. I also posted the graphics and the event details to every community calendar website, as well as the company Facebook page. 

What are some major takeaways from your experience? How will these help prepare you for the next step after graduation?

Some of the major takeaways I got from my experience include how to communicate effectively with companies, clients and all other business professionals. I was also able to improve my creative skills and  digital marketing skills, which I can now apply to my future jobs after graduation. By creating more content at my internship, I can now add these skills to my resume and add the pieces I am most proud of to my portfolio. 

Did this experience help clarify your career path? If yes, how so?

Yes, this experience did help clarify my career path. At first, I thought it would be helpful for to me to take an internship in event planning because I had always wanted to experience that industry, but after a whole semester of working in events, I now realize my true passion for marketing and I am more certain that marketing is the career track for me.