I accepted an internship for the summer of 2018 at a property management company based out of Hollywood, Florida. My job description solely included large, company-wide organizational projects at first. I was creating portfolios for each of the 60 communities, approximately 15,000 apartment homes, for their organization of tax forms. As I was completing this project, I was given liberties to design the cover pages and spines of the portfolios. Working in this division of the company allowed me to shift from strictly working on organizational tasks to more design and contact-based responsibilities.
The Cornerstone company conference was the first task. I was in charge of both the organization of people, décor and venues, as well as communicating with vendors, hotel staff, and entertainment managers. From hand-making name tags and assembling the room decorations to tending to the company owners’ requests, I believe I slept 12 hours across all four days the conference was held. Once the event had begun, I could not have been happier or more excited; everything that could have been was done. By the last day I was both exhausted and exhilarated; I had created a space that the employees, who work very hard for six days a week, and employers alike got to enjoy a fun and educational event. It was an experience like nothing I could have ever imagined, I had felt such a sense of pride and success in the moments that the
conference was ending because I could see that people were coming out of comfort zones and enjoying a space together.
In the weeks following the conference, I began to work under the Vice President of Marketing. I was given more responsibilities that revolved around structural design; I was checking floor plans, comparing interiors of spaces and working with graphics to improve the quality of online marketing. One of the more exciting aspects of my position were the “on-site” trips to the new building projects; I assisted my boss in walk-throughs in which he inspected the skeleton of the buildings to match his floor plans. I was also allowed the privilege to name some of the floor plans for newer projects; that would be
the name that appears on all architectural renderings and marketing flyers. My
internship gave me the artistic and creative freedom to explore a new world of interest for me and my future.
In the final weeks of my summer internship, I was approached with the idea that I could stay on the employee list during the school year and work remotely from Minnesota. My current title is “Coordinator of Social Media Marketing,” and I am primarily in charge of managing social media accounts for all communities across multiple platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. I also work on managing media outreach and find errors in the company’s public information, for example, if there is an incorrect phone number listing for a particular community on Google, I am able to make adjustments and therefore
track analytics. I plan to continue a good relationship with Cornerstone Group and also continue to explore what they have to offer as well as what I am able to offer them for a successful company.