Thursday, October 3, 2013

Internship Spotlight: Jordan Tomimatsu


By Jordan Tomimatsu, Gabelli 2015

In the spring of 2013 I decided it was time for me to experience the business world. I was hesitant to apply anywhere due to my lack of work experience outside of the pool. My past summers had been spent teaching swim lessons and lifeguarding. As a soon to be junior I knew in order to prepare for life after college I had to get an internship. I began searching on Career Links for an internship position in the general marketing field. After reading numerous overwhelming and intimidating job listings I became frustrated and discouraged. I realized that working in a corporate office was not what I wanted for my first internship. After coming to this realization I came across the listing for a social media internship at Land Yoga in Harlem! I looked at all the responsibilities and qualifications and decided this would be a perfect fit for me. I submitted my cover letter and resume and quickly heard back from the owner Lara Land asking me to come in for an interview! The next week was a blur. I went in for the interview and heard back within days that I had got the position, and this is when my summer adventure at Land Yoga began.

Throughout the summer, almost everyday started out with Lara saying, “Today is a crazy day”. After a few weeks I came to the realization that everyday is a crazy day when running two businesses. Interning at Land Yoga, gave me the opportunity to gain hands on experience in the business world. I was not given meaningless tasks of shredding paper or getting coffee, but rather given the responsibilities of marketing various workshops, updating social media, communicating with media contacts, planning events, analyzing website traffic, and doing market research.

Right from the beginning of my internship, I knew that I was going to learn an immense amount about all aspects of running a business. My responsibilities ranged from administrative tasks to drafting press releases. To my surprise, I learned about running two different businesses! Land Yoga’s sister company Chloe the Yogi, geared toward young yogis, was preparing to launch its interactive yoga app. Being the social media intern, one of my many responsibilities was constantly posting and updating both Land Yoga and Chloe the Yogi’s Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. It was exciting to see how the content I was posting was attracting more people to the Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. It was amazing that the work I was doing at Land Yoga was actually making a difference!

Aside from my social media duties, I was also tasked with connecting with media contacts. This was my favorite part of my internship. Lara gave me the opportunity to draft my first press release! At first it was a daunting task because I had not the slightest idea where to begin. Lara, being the business savvy and helpful mentor she is, walked me through the process. With her guidance, I was able to draft press releases on my own.  I really enjoyed being involved in this process and realized that a public relations career is something that I want to pursue in the future.

Before starting my internship at Land Yoga I was an inexperienced and confused student looking for a career path that I would be passionate about. After working at Land Yoga for a little over 3 months I have gained sales, marketing, and event planning experience along with learning how to use Google Analytics, MailChimp, Hootsuite, and Virb. Most importantly, I have found what I am passionate about. This internship taught me more than I ever expected. For students looking for internships where they can learn about all aspects of running a business while being in a fun work environment, I say look no further! Land Yoga is the place for you!

Jordan interned in the summer of 2013 with Land Yoga. She is currently a junior at Fordham majoring in Marketing.

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