At The Adventure Project, I was the social media marketing and analytics intern. My work involved gathering and analyzing all available data to make data-based decisions regarding the organization’s marketing campaigns. The purpose of these campaigns is to attract donors and fundraisers to raise money for the entrepreneurs The Adventure Project serves in Africa, India, Haiti, and Brazil. My main tasks were to optimize the decision making process in regards to marketing decisions and to create a Google Adwords advertising platform. Together, the marketing team was able to double traffic to its website from the beginning to the end of the summer.  This allowed The Adventure Project to reach a wider audience and therefore increased donations and fundraisers. My work made a tangible contribution to the organization and it allowed me to assist entrepreneurs in Uganda, Kenya, India, and Haiti.

As an undergraduate student in Columbia College, I am currently studying Sustainable Development and Statistics.  I was able to apply the skills I learned in the classroom to this internship in a variety of ways. In my Sustainable Development classes, I learn the principles and theory behind economic development in third world countries. We study the problems these nations face and how they can overcome them. One of the strategies that is used to overcome poverty, which I’ve learned about in the classroom, is to empower local grass-root entrepreneurs who can provide a large impact to their community. The Adventure Project follows this strategy and strategically channels donations to fund community health workers, farmers, and well mechanics. Additionally, through my study of statistics, I’ve learned various analytical strategies that I was able to use during my internship. Through my study of both Sustainable Development and Statistics, I was able to bring a valuable knowledge base and skillset to the organization and I was able to see my knowledge and skills applied to the real world.

I faced various challenges throughout this experience. This position required me to develop my own projects and produce results. While exciting, there were also many challenges I faced. The primary challenge I faced was balancing multiple projects and roles with various team members. I needed to steward projects to completion where team members were pulled in other directions, had various levels of experience and attention to detail, and had strong opinions. I myself did not have a great deal of experience. As an intern, I was responsible for producing results from my own projects but I also had to work with and lead other interns as well.  Due to the small size of this organization, I was required to wear multiple hats and take on multiple roles. The balancing act between these two roles was the biggest challenge I faced.

Through this experience, I learned new skills and gained insight into what I value in a work setting. I gained an understand of the way a nonprofit organization operates and the challenges associated with being a nonprofit organization. I truly enjoyed working in a small organization and it allowed me to make a real impact. Other opportunities for growth and learning came from the start-up, high impact nature of the work and company. I worked across roles and teams throughout the summer and was given the opportunity to work across many aspects of the organization. The work I produced throughout the summer directly impacted the flow of traffic and donations and I had the opportunity to rise to the challenge of actually bringing in meaningful business and building and maintaining fundraising relationships.