Summer Internship: A Day in the Life of Meghan Mahoney

Marketing Major  

Hi everyone! My name is Meghan Mahoney and I’m an incoming junior at San Diego State University. My major is Marketing with a specialization in Integrated Marketing Communications. I’m also a Weber Honors College student pursuing a minor in Interdisciplinary Studies. I’m extremely humbled and excited to say that this summer I started my internship as the Fowler College of Business (FCB) Student Marketing Assistant.

I discovered this opportunity on Handshake, an app where students can find jobs and internships, a few days before the application was due. I immediately knew that this was my dream internship because it would allow me to learn invaluable marketing skills while promoting something I am proud of. After two rounds of interviews, I was shocked and thrilled when they offered me the job! 

As a business student, I have always been impressed with my college’s vast range of strong programs and interesting courses. However, this internship has really opened my eyes to all the incredible opportunities FCB has to offer. Before this experience, I never fully comprehended how awesome programs such as Lavin Entrepreneurship, Fowler Scholars, Sports MBA, and Women in Entrepreneurship & Leadership (to name a few) really are. I am also impressed with the countless impressive stories of business students here at SDSU; it is a pleasure to work with Fowler’s excellent marketing team to recognize these students and promote our outstanding business college!

Here is a day in the life of my virtual internship:

9 AM: My alarm goes off and I roll out of bed. I do not function well without my daily cup of coffee in the morning so the next thing I do is take a trip to the Keurig in my house. I also fill up my Hydro Flask so that I remember to stay hydrated throughout the day.

9:30 AM: Before I officially log on at 10 am, I use this half-hour to go through any emails I have not opened yet and to fine-tune my to-do list. Because I am a detail-oriented person, I sometimes like to use this extra time to plan out any projects I am working on. 

10 AM: I “log on” and say hi to my boss, Gema, FCB’s Director of Marketing and Communications. I usually send her a G-chat message updating her with what I have on my to-to list and we talk about what tasks I should prioritize that day.

10:30 AM: Most of my weekly tasks include updating faculty profiles on the website, uploading new articles to our homepage, creating graphics through Adobe Spark, and writing captions for our social media posts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I am usually working on two-four projects each day.

11:30 AM: If I have questions about how to use Photoshop or OU Campus, our website editing platform, I usually ask Darrien, our team’s Graphic Design and Digital Specialist. Most of the time he emails me the answers to my questions but sometimes he will give me a quick Zoom tutorial to explain things. One of the most challenging aspects of my internship has been learning how to ask the right questions and learn things virtually. It takes a little extra effort but I am grateful for how this virtual environment has improved my communication skills and adaptability.

12:30 PM: This is usually the time I have lunch or a midday snack. I also like to use this break to move my body and stretch a little. I’ve learned that it’s extremely important for me to take at least one break each day to move my muscles so I can remain energized and focused.

1 PM: I send emails to the marketing team updating them about various projects we have going on, including social posts recognizing students for earning awards or high GPAs, student summer internship articles, and College of Business Council leader spotlights. When I write and edit articles, I usually collaborate with Janey, our Marketing and Events Specialist. 

2 PM: Since my internship is part-time, I usually work three to four hours each day, three days a week. My “end” time always varies because I like to complete as many tasks as possible on my work days. However, normally l end my day at 2 pm.

Learning how to succeed in a virtual internship has definitely presented its challenges. As someone who enjoys connecting with others face-to-face and loves working in an office or classroom environment, I sometimes experience zoom fatigue and miss working right next to coworkers and classmates. Nonetheless, these unusual circumstances have helped me learn the value of perseverance and becoming fearless in the pursuit of learning new skills, sharing ideas, and taking chances. I am forever grateful to have been given this opportunity to help the wonderful FCB marketing team!