(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of stories about College of Communications students completing summer internships.)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For some students, summer is filled with relaxation, family and vacations. For others, internships or jobs take up parts of their time “off.”
For Sarah Peterson, there isn’t much of a summer break at all.
Peterson, who finished her freshman year in May and plans to major in advertising/public relations and minor in digital media, started a brand marketing internship with Clique Media Group in Los Angeles the Monday following finals week in May. The three-month position will run until the day before she leaves to come back to Penn State.
“I really wanted to dive into the internship,” said Peterson. “It’s a solid three-plus months of working in the industry and gaining invaluable experience.”
A native of Orange County, California, Peterson is living at home for now, making the two-hour drive each way three times a week to West Hollywood. Later this month, though, she will move into an apartment near the UCLA campus, cutting her drive time to 25 minutes.
Clique Media Group is a media and commerce company that focuses on lifestyle relating to a female, millennial and Gen Z audience. The company runs WhoWhatWear.com, a leading online platform for fashion and style content; Byrdie.com, a mobile content platform focusing on beauty; MyDomaine.com, a lifestyle and home décor site; and recently started Obsessee, a brand that produces content that lives strictly on social media for millennial and Gen Z females.
“As the brand marketing intern, I am currently learning how to develop innovative marketing strategies across their four platforms,” said Peterson.
Part of her job is to help with the planning and execution of events, working with guest lists, looking up vendors and researching events after they are done to see how they could have been improved. One of her favorite parts to date was a brunch for a new book titled “The Career Code,” which was written by Clique Media Group CEOs Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr.
Prior to the event, Peterson helped promote it, sending copies of the book to “influencers” and looking up fashion bloggers who should be invited. She was also able to attend the event, helping make sure everything was set up properly and greeting people as they arrived. In addition, she was able to network with others in the industry and see celebrities such as Nicole Richie and Rachel Zoe.
Peterson said a big plus is that the employees at the company are young and therefore produce content that is relatable. Another bonus, she says, is that she is able to run independently with weekly projects and be creative, receiving constructive criticism along the way.
“I love being able to work with the manager and director of brand marketing at CMG and bounce ideas off one another to produce great results for the company,” said Peterson. “Clique Media Group is all about fashion, beauty and lifestyle and those industries are exactly what I want to get into. I just love being able to work with content I’m passionate about.”
Even though she hasn’t been in the position long, it has been eye-opening and informative for Peterson, who hadn’t had any PR experience or classes prior to earning the internship. She did, however, have experience in the fashion industry, which she said has helped. Peterson grew up playing volleyball and soccer, but in high school she was scouted by Next Models Management and began working in the Los Angeles entertainment industry.
“Modeling was a great way for me to start out in the fashion industry because I was able to meet and collaborate with innovative designers and photographers,” said Peterson. “Being around so many detail-oriented individuals who were fashion forward, inspired me to continue my work in the industry.”
With the help of her fashion knowledge and support from Bob Martin, the assistant dean for internships and career placement in the College of Communications, Peterson was able to land the internship in the industry she hopes to end up in.
“Post graduation, I’m hoping to find a job in the Los Angeles public relations industry,” said Peterson. “That’s why it was really important for me as a freshman to secure an internship and start networking with public relations professionals.”