by Linda Castillo
The vision of ModernLatina.com is to create an online community with content that will empower Latinas to realize their goals and dreams. Not only are we trying to empower Latinas with our online content, we also offer internships for college students providing real experience that can often be applied towards competing their college degree.
This past spring, I had the pleasure of working with an amazing, energetic, and bright young lady, Michelle Arcos. Michelle studied Communications at CSU Monterey Bay and applied her internship at Modern Latina as part of her capstone project for graduation. Michelle received an A on her final project and successfully graduated. Congratulations Michelle- Class of 2012 and good luck in your future endeavors!
I could tell you about all the different projects that Michelle worked on during her internship but I think it would be better to hear it straight from her. In between working at her family business and applying for graduate school, Michelle shared some insight about internship at Modern Latina.
What did you learn from your experience as an intern at Modern Latina?
My experience with Modern Latina was great and very rewarding. I found myself discovering new things about myself as a student and worker in this area of communications. This internship taught me that there are many aspects that go into producing an online magazine from creating it’s content and marketing it. I feel I was able to contribute in all facets of Modern Latina from brainstorming, conducting research, writing and managing social media pages. I also learned more about the Latina community and I felt it brought me closer to my culture and for that I am forever grateful.
What was your favorite part about your internship with Modern Latina?
What immediately drew me to this internship was it called for students who are studying marketing, public relations, or communications. Most importantly it was ideal for students who wanted to gain a valuable experience in marketing, publications and journalism. My goal was to learn more about these fields and I met those goals. Overall, I enjoyed how I was able to engage readers with my stories and news and inform them. For example, I compiled monthly event calendars and I enjoyed letting readers know about events that were local, entertaining and beneficial to them. Also, I enjoyed being able to interview inspiring Latina’s for featured articles and I found it made me go more in depth and strengthen my writing.
How did your internship at Modern Latina fit into your college and career path?
This internship fit with my university’s requirements of completing a capstone project for graduation. I had to pick an internship that fulfilled the model of my capstone theme of communication in communities. My community was the Modern Latina readers and my form of communication was through online articles and social media updates. I was able to reach a vast amount of people all over the world.
As for my career path, my concentration in communications was media studies with an interest in public relations and marketing. Since my internship with Modern Latina ended, I feel I am a more confident writer and communicator. During this internship I was able to make contacts with various people and I feel learning how to work with them will help me in my professional career. Since graduating from CSUMB, I changed some of my career goals, and want to pursue my master’s degree and become a college counselor. I had the privilege working as an advisor for high school students that made me realize I enjoy helping others achieve their academic goals. The information I gained from my communications degree and internship with Modern Latina will be forever helpful and I feel I can take my knowledge with me in any career.
What would you tell any college student interested in interning at Modern Latina?
I would tell any student that is interested in building a writing portfolio and wanting to gain an inside look into an online publication from content, marketing and managing social media sites to intern. I was able to learn so many things from time management and research methods and those are helpful skills for any college student.
If you are interested in learning more about Modern Latina’s internship opportunities, please email editor@modernlatina.com.
Linda Castillo is the Founder and Executive Editor of http://www.modernlatina.com/. She writes on topics that empower and inspire Latinas including art, motherhood, green living, culture, travel, and issues transforming the Latino community. Linda has earned a B.S. in Business and a M.S. in Mass Communications from San Jose State University.