As I wrapped up my last days with Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana, I wanted to share my own experiences working as a summer 2021 Marketing Intern. 

What drew me into Goodwill’s internship program was the fact that I would learn many aspects of marketing working under the whole marketing team. My supervisor continually asked me what I wanted to get out of my time here and what she could do to help me accomplish my goals for the summer. 

Although I could talk for days on what I loved about being a marketing intern this summer, I’ll simply touch on the highlights. 

My main role was overseeing and creating blog posts for Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana’s website. I was able to write and promote stories of those positively impacted by Goodwill’s programs or employment in the company, engaging the 4000+ employees across Indiana.

I had the pleasure of meeting employees and program participants around the state, learning about their specific journey and how Goodwill played a part in their growth. This allowed me to travel as far north as Lafayette, and as far south as Clarksville. 

Each individual was incredibly unique and inspiring, a few almost brought me to tears as they spoke to me. I have witnessed first-hand only a handful of lives being changed by this organization and I know there are countless more I wasn't able to encounter or share. 

Not only did I strengthen my marketing communication skills by creating blog posts, but I was able to learn marketing skills including website design, data analytics, event planning, photography skills, and social media knowledge through other tasks assigned to me as well.

The Marketing Department also outsourced the promotion of Goodwill's Annual Awards videos to Westcomm®, a marketing and communications consulting firm. I shadowed their video shoots to learn about film development and content creation.

I was shocked to find how accommodating and helpful everyone was to lead me towards my career goals, encouraging me to gain skills wherever that may be. 

This summer, I not only had a job, I formed a career and goals for my future. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity and I highly recommend working at such a welcoming and positive company. I cannot wait to take the skills I’ve gained this summer wherever I go. Thank you to everyone I had the pleasure of meeting and working with, and thank you to Betsy Dustman for creating this program. This will definitely be a summer for the books.