Throughout the next few weeks, we want to give the UWBucks Community a chance to meet our six awesome interns! Each Wednesday, we will feature a post by an intern telling you a little bit about themselves and their mission for the summer. This week is Katie Pilot, the intern behind the majority of this summer’s blog posts!
My name is Katie Pilot, and I am the Social Media and Marketing Intern here at the United Way of Bucks County for the summer. I am a rising senior at Villanova University, where I study Communication and English. I am also involved with Villanova’s Phonathon, Chi Omega Fraternity, and Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Honor Society.
My interest in UWBucks began when I received an email from Villanova’s career center about the opportunity. I was feeling lost in my internship search, as I did not feel connected to any of the positions I applied to at that point. After reading about this opportunity, I got online and started doing some research. I was quickly drawn to the United Way’s focus on health, income and education. I decided to apply.
The professional development component of the UWBucks program was also enticing to me. Every week, we have a meeting to learn something more than what our position will naturally teach us. Sometimes we talk with member agencies, or work on our resumes, or develop professional goals. These activities allow me to get a better handle on the professional world, which is a great confidence builder for a rising college senior.
At the beginning of this program, I was not quite sure what to expect as the Marketing and Social Media Intern. I thought maybe I would be in charge of our Twitter account, or spend my days creating more of an online presence for UWBucks. Instead, I jumped in head first, writing a press release on my first day that was then sent to all local papers. I have been working on blog posts, promotional flyers and additional press releases ever since and I love it.
Overall, being able to share the great things that Bucks County does for the community is the best thing about this position. I truly believe in UWBucks’ mission to advance the greater good by promoting the building blocks of a healthy life and I love seeing that in action. I was able to attend a Day of Service and tell our followers about it on the blog. I have been able to get the word out regarding Bucks Knocks Out Hunger through press releases and tweets.
I’ve learned about so many important partnerships and activities that UWBucks is involved with because I get to publicize them. This makes me see that I am a part of an organization that is doing good things for the community. Though I am not out there in the field, giving food to the hungry or fixing a house for someone in need, I am letting Bucks County know that these things need to be done and that UWBucks is doing them. And that is an accomplishment in itself.
About the contributor: Katie Pilot is the Marketing Intern at UW Bucks for the summer. She is a rising senior at Villanova University with a major in Communications. Due to her passion for social justice, particularly the importance of education, she is excited to help get the word out about UW Bucks’ great contributions to the county to help get more people involved.