Eagle Intern Fellow: Shay Alexander

This past summer, I had the privilege of interning with Power Move Marketing. The digital marketing agency is owned and run entirely by women who oversee and manage over 65 diverse accounts. Power Move Marketing’s clientele ranged from professional MLB players to cosmetic surgery clinics and estheticians. As both a spring and summer term intern, I worked under a different account manager each month, completing various tasks for each AM’s designated brands. Weekly tasks varied greatly from TikTok and Instagram content creation to blog writing to influencer scouting and researching brand partnerships. In addition to my weekly assignment of tasks, I attended informational Zoom meetings held by award-winning marketers on email marketing, social media content creation, paid ads, web design, influencer marketing, and SEO. However, there was one thing that stood out most to me over my time with Power Move Marketing¬¬. This was not just an internship––it was a mentorship.

While my internship was entirely remote, I could not have felt closer with my account managers, checking in each morning with a “Rise and shine!” text and clocking out with a “🌙” or “Great work today, Shay!” Having spent my junior year of high school online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom was not an unfamiliar platform to me. Even still, being remote as an intern posed its challenges. I was challenged to raise my standards of communication and accountability. When an email came in from my supervisor, I needed to be readily available, day or night. When a client wanted to entirely rework their social media platform days before a product launch, I needed to be prepared with their fresh, new direction. And, when I inevitably missed the mark on an assignment, I needed a sense of accountability to acknowledge, rectify, and grow from my mistake. But this growth did not come to me without help. The constant guidance and unrelenting support from my mentors, supervisors, and fellow interns alike made this unparalleled amount of growth and learning possible.

As for the future, this internship has impacted my vision. This internship has provided me with a clearer idea of what I would like to do and, more importantly, what I would not like to do. After managing the accounts of 65+ diverse clients, I’ve realized I’m much better suited for working in the marketing sect of just one brand. Having to split my attention between so many clients made me feel less attached to their success as my allegiance was so divided. I feel better suited to devote all my attention and marketing expertise to one brand I feel passionately about. With an additional concentration in Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good in the Carroll School of Management, sustainability and environmental consciousness is of the utmost priority to me. To work for a brand such as Patagonia or another that is transparent about its sourcing and prioritizes minimizing its carbon footprint would be the ideal company for me. Additionally, I found it hard during my time with Power Move Marketing to inspire creativity when it came to brands I wasn’t passionate about. While during my internship there was no option to just “have no ideas” for a brand I was not invested in, I can use this information I learned about myself in planning my future. Using this, I can pursue a career with a company whose drive and morals align with mine. There’s this push, I believe, for internships to show you just what you want to go into, but sometimes these internships are more valuable for teaching you want you do not want to pursue.

Overall, I could not have asked for a better experience as an intern with Power Move Marketing. The company has provided me with a solid, fundamental understanding of digital marketing and all it has to offer. While my understanding of the industry may never be complete, I now have the basic skills and general competency to thrive in whatever step is next in my career. It was a privilege to learn from the driven, talented women at Power Move Marketing and I now enter my sophomore year at Boston College feeling inspired, engaged, and excited.