Sarah Shorter '21

1) What are some skills/competencies (NACE) that you developed during your internship?

This internship has greatly helped me develop my written communication abilities, team collaboration skills, and technological confidence. Written marketing materials had to be written toward a specific audience and this challenged me to write with purpose and thought. Additionally, being a fully remote internship, I learned a lot about the use of Google drive features, and how to best communicate with team members through the different aspects of the Google Suite. Finally, I gained an increased understanding of the value of acknowledging my strengths, and using them to improve my work. Using the Clifton Strengths assessment, I found that my top five strengths are empathy, harmony, developer, belief, and connectedness.

2) How does this experience connect to your future career goals?

While this internship has helped me realize that I am not interested in pursuing a career focused around marketing, creating content centered around international education programs has continued to fuel my passion for education abroad and global engagement. Working with a small company has given me valuable experience in a small business setting, emphasizing the value of all team members collaborating and being “all hands on deck” when trying to push toward big project goals.

3) What advice would you give to other Holy Cross students?

Reach out to Holy Cross Alumni and people in your field of interest! My internship supervisor, as well as the company CEO, both are very active on LinkedIn and have encouraged me to get more active on the professional networking website. Holy Cross alumni are very receptive to questions about their careers, experiences, and interests! Additionally, getting active on LinkedIn will help you learn more about new and exciting opportunities that are out there!

Ask for help! Internships are about learning and gathering experience so “asking more” is vital to getting the most out of your internship.Especially in a remote internship setting, sending a message or calling someone up when you have a roadblock will be essential to doing productive work.