The summer before my junior year of high school, I was an intern at one of my favorite clean, makeup brands. It was my first internship and I was so nervous. As months went by I was doing very well, even though I was the youngest and least experienced in the office, I managed to make a good impression – not standing out too much, but working my best to complete assignments. However as time went on, the company began to struggle. They were struggling in a top area, selling their products through e-commerce as well as selling to a younger audience specifically through the Instagram platform. Because everybody in the office was much older and had little to no experience in the social media aspect, knowing how important it was, I knew this would be my time to shine. I walked up to my boss feeling confident enough and politely offered to make a sort of proposition for a business plan. I told her I could do this on the side of my other internship work. She accepted the offer. I spent hours and then days and weeks on drafting up a proposal on how the brand can appeal to a younger audience and gain more popularity on instagram.  The way they were managing their instagram was not very beneficial in my point of view, it wasn’t a surprise to see the downfall of the company through that aspect. I decided to make a powerpoint presentation. Which included lots of colors, pictures, examples, and propositions. It was risky. Very risky, but the only way to actually benefit the company was take that risk. A few weeks passed and it was my time to present to the company. Not only my boss, but my fellow intern, the women in the office and the CEO of the brand herself. I was so scared. But the only thing I felt confident in was the information. And that was what I needed. So I presented, I presented my best work. After I presented I was shocked at the reaction. Every person who had listened to my presentation was ready for an immediate change. Some were hesitant at first, but were open to cooperative ideas. The company was so grateful for my ideas and not only that but I learned so much from the experience. It truly opened my eyes to not only my potential, but how important teamwork and new ideas can really be.

This moment for me really opened my eyes to how amazing internship opportunities really are, and what they can mean for a company. I was able to explore my passion for makeup and also a passion for social media work. I hadn’t known either of these before I began the work with the company.

I really hope that my senior project will give me another chance to learn from others while also giving my own thoughts and recommendations on how to improve things. I hope that like this internship opportunity did, that I can benefit the work of a company or person in a very beneficial way. I want to be able to put hard work into the things that I do for the senior project and also show the people around me how teamwork can achieve great things.