Summer Intern Recap: Kenalyn Ang
Over the past 10 weeks, Kenalyn Ang has collaborated with MBA Mama as an Editorial/Creative Intern. Kenalyn — a native of Los Angeles, California — is a Junior at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland where she studies International Relations and Comparative Literature. Kenalyn was able to leverage her experience as the Features Editor for her university’s student newspaper to make a positive contribution to MBA Mama’s content management strategy this summer. Kenalyn managed and uploaded posts on all MBA Mama social media accounts, wrote 6 articles and copy edited 14 pieces of written work featured on the blog. Check out Kenalyn’s recap of her summer internship with MBA Mama — in her own words, of course!
Guest Blog: By Kenalyn Ang // As my work was online-based, interning with MBA Mama was one of the most flexible summer work experiences I have ever had. Correspondence between Nicole, Divinity and myself was primarily conducted over email, Skype calls, and text messages, and by working from home (or wherever I had wifi), I had the freedom and opportunity to travel during the summer. I was able to visit family and friends in the Philippines and Atlanta, and simultaneously work on assignments I had for other written publications.
As the 2017 summer Editorial and Creative Intern for MBA Mama, my focus was primarily on the online content published by the startup.
I served as copyeditor, reading through, editing, and drafting content submitted for MBA Mama of the Month, Brands We Love, and other sections of the blog. Additionally, I managed MBA Mama’s social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, strategizing on how to best present MBAMama and thus, increasing its following. I monitored the activity and reception each post received, and targeted specific audiences using hashtags and scheduled hours of posting, among others. I also served as a liaison between MBA Mama and brands and individuals in the online community, sending a monthly email newsletter and conducting email correspondence between MBA Mama and fellow startups and MBA parents. During these communications, I interviewed the individuals, startups and businesses, then wrote up articles for publication on the online blog based on their responses.
Thanks to this opportunity, I strengthened my knowledge of and practice using certain online tools, and learned how to use several new applications. I further familiarized myself with MailChimp, Twitter, and Facebook, and learned how to successfully use the mobile application Hootsuite and the online blogging platform Medium. While I had monthly Skype calls or text conversations with my bosses Divinity or Nicole, I was given a large amount of independence to explore and contribute my own ideas, and the internship helped me be more proactive and more comfortable with ambiguity.
It has been encouraging to be exposed to the driven, successful individuals associated with MBA Mama. I am grateful to have had the chance to hear about the business world: MBA programs across the nation, tips for test preparations, and varying careers and opportunities that either lead to or resulted from an MBA program. Reading the advice about careers moves, parenting choices, and other important decisions from working moms and dads has also been extremely rewarding, as the MBA Mama community is composed of the very individuals experiencing the work and home balance.