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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