Marketing Internship

By Madeline Warren, Marketing Intern

When something life changing happens to you, that moment and how you felt sticks with you for a very long time. Engrained in your memory is every little detail about the short period of time that managed to have such a big impact on your life. That moment for me is when I got the email from Squam Lakes Natural Science Center offering me the position as Marketing Intern for the summer. I remember reading that email in the middle of my college campus’ bustling cafeteria and without a second thought accepting the position. The feeling of utter excitement that I was about to embark on a new journey by myself to a place I had never been before and live there for three months is still fresh in my mind. Now it is half a year later from that day in my college cafeteria. I have spent the past three months in the beautiful town of Holderness, New Hampshire interning at the Science Center and I am not ready to say good bye.

Over the past three months I have met more interesting people, taken more pictures, and learned more about marketing than I ever thought I would. Each day there was something new to be fascinated about in the field of marketing. One thing I became particularly fascinated with is how marketing creates an identity for a business by using a specific logo with specific colors and fonts. I knew companies used the same color and logos to advertise but I had no idea how specific a brand actually gets. It was my job at the Science Center to create posters for the different programs we were having like Natural Adventures, Up Close to Animal, lake cruises, lectures and more. Each poster was like a mini work of art for me. I would have to go out and take a picture that would be fitting for the event we were advertising for, and then follow the brand identity standards the Science Center uses for all advertisements. I doubt I will ever forget how a Lithos and Rockwell font looks, or the color of that Pantone light green and dark green we use in text.

Another ongoing project that struck my interest was the marketing research and demographic survey project that was the main focus of the internship. It was a little tedious going out on the trail and asking people the same four questions (how did you hear about the Science Center, How often do you visit, Are you a member, what is your zip code). However, after I had all the information and was able to sit down at my desk and analyze the data that was very interesting for me. I liked this project because I was able to bring new information to the marketing department and I felt like I was contributing to something much larger.

When I look at my life ahead of me I want to bring new ideas and information into this world. Marketing research tests the traditional strategies of advertising and creates new ones that help businesses advertise to the public better. I think I would like to pursue this field more and the Science Center has helped me get my foot in the door of marketing research through the demographic survey project. This internship experience has really helped me define my future goals. Before this internship I was confused at what specific field I would like to go into but marketing research is definitely something I would like to continue studying.

Half a year ago in my college campuses cafeteria when I accepted this internship my life changed. I would have never thought about a career in marketing research, or met such wonderful people, or learned so much about wildlife had I not taken this internship.

Our Interns

I know we say every year how great our summer interns are, and this year is no different. Marketing Intern Tom Howe, Program Intern James Seager, Program Intern Rachael Sitzer, and Program Intern Aubrey Voelker were fantastic! Thank you all for a great season!

James Seager

Rachael Sitzer

Aubrey Voelker

Tom Howe

Retrospective

By Tom Howe, Marketing Intern

It's almost September, and I've only got a few days left as the Marketing Intern here at the Science Center, and it's been great. I was remembering getting the phone call that constituted my interview towards the end of last school year, and a lot of awesome things have happened since then. I'm not sure what I really expected this year to be like, but it was definitely something good. I didn't make as much as I would have made at Subway, and I didn't learn as much about how picky people can be about the number of olive pieces as I might have, but I did learn a lot of interesting things about working with videos and pictures to show more people the coolest things about a place. And I learned that there are a lot of really cool things this particular place has to show people.

I've lived in New Hampshire for something like 8 years, and my parents are biologists, but there was still a lot I could learn about New Hampshire's plant and animal life, and it was fun. And to get back to that phone interview, I didn't realize how much of a learning experience this would be. I remember I tried really hard to explain everything I knew how to do and everything I could do if I got the position, but this year has been much more than just a time to use my skills to do good work for a cool place. It's been more like a time to not have to worry too much about anything other than getting better at things I enjoy, things I'm going to use in whatever career I end up having. I spent a lot of time editing videos and pictures, more time than I'd ever actually had to dedicate to doing just those things at other jobs, and that was great. I'm excited to be going back to school, and this coming year is going to be great, but I'm definitely going to miss doing all that I've been able to be doing all the time here.

Note: Check out Tom's photo work on our Flickr page and video work on our YouTube channel.

My Summer as a Marketing Intern

By Hank Geng, Marketing Intern

When I first arrived in Holderness this summer, I wasn’t sure what to think. Sure, the Squam Lakes were beautiful, but the town of Holderness seemed like it was just a glorified intersection. As a born and bred city-dweller that chose to go to school in the state of Maine, one would think that I would have been prepared to spend a summer in a small town, but at first, I was taken aback by how little I thought there was to do in the area. The cabin I shared with the other three interns had no insulation and the temperature inside would fluctuate from freezing cold to outrageously hot. We also soon realized that we were sharing our house with several forms of wildlife, including mice, bats, and flying squirrels. However, despite the apparent downsides to living in the woods, the gorgeous natural setting of New Hampshire started to charm me, and I quickly began to enjoy living in Holderness.

A big part of this about-face was due to my job at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center as a marketing intern. I have never encountered such a welcoming and professional staff in all the places at which I’ve worked in the past. The sheer amount of camaraderie present between the staff members was astounding. It made coming to work every day far more enjoyable.

I initially thought that my work here would just be a desk job, but it turned out to be much more than that. The Science Center is a very outdoors-oriented institution, and even though I spent a fair amount of time on the computer, I’ve gotten the chance to walk the Gephart Exhibit Trail dozens of times. I sometimes even feel that even though the trail is geared towards children, adults might have more fun with everything there is to do in the exhibits – not to mention the copious amounts of slides.

Other than the outdoors, another facet of the Science Center that appealed to me was its focus on education. While the Science Center certainly does its part to educate children about the natural environment, working here also taught me many things that I hope to apply towards my future career. I learned how to be adaptable in a professional workplace, and I got to brush up on my people skills when interacting with visitors here at the Science Center. For that, I am extremely thankful.

While working as a marketing intern here at the Science Center, I also had the opportunity to do a lot of work with photography and videography, which are things I’ve enjoyed in the past as a pastime but have never done in a professional context. I took photos of everything the Science Center does – from the Gephart Exhibit Trail to the Lake Cruises and the animals we use on programs and outreaches, as well as the Saturday Night Wild fundraiser. Taking these photos and videos was a great way to familiarize myself with the Science Center and its daily goings-on.

I had an extremely positive experience this summer working at the Science Center. I entered with reservations and am now leaving with absolutely none. The only negative feeling I have now is regret; that I don’t have more time to spend here around the gorgeous Squam Lakes region, or around these fantastic people at the Science Center. Their hard work and dedication shines through to the valuable experience we provide here at the Science Center.