The University of Wisconsin – Madison offers upwards of 120 undergraduate majors – a long-term advantage and short-term reason of panic for many eighteen-year-old students applying to college. As a first-generation scholar, my knowledge of potential career paths was rather limited; however, my internal thoughts as a three-year-old convinced me to pursue biology and psychology on a pre-medical track since I always seemed to have aspirations of becoming a physician. Still, a decision did not eradicate doubt. Upon entering my first year of college, I searched for answers and found many of them through my internship with the Social Media Adolescent Health Research Team (SMAHRT) in which I assumed a rather dichotomous position as both a promotions and research intern. As I near the celebration of my first year with SMAHRT, I have learned more than imaginable and experienced many similarities and differences between my two divergent internships amalgamated as one.
As a SMAHRTie, my tasks differ weekly. On the promotions side, I work as the Lead Social Media Strategist where I work alongside two others under the mentorship of Maggie, the promotions team lead. Weekly, I monitor social media accounts and interact with those we follow. I also contribute to the creation of monthly content calendars and design content in accordance. I edit blogs and consider strategies of dissemination that directly links to the research being conducted at SMAHRT. As a research intern, I completed my own independent research project whilst also contributing to those done by the team along the way. I have also mentored youth on their projects through our Summer Research Scholars Program. I conduct literature reviews and partake in manuscript writings. As a bonus perk, I understand terminology that I had considered a foreign language one year ago!
Evidently, no job is isolated. If one wishes to pursue one path but is considering another, there is most likely an opportunity available to solidify sentiments. As a promotions and research intern, I have been able to explore my personal creativity while also attending to the rigidity of STEM work. In working in both realms, I have been able to gain appreciation for each team and understand their collaboration. As they say two brains are better than one, so are two positions wrapped into one internship.