The Perks of Being a Sunflower Philly Intern

Hi everyone! I’m Audrey, and I am a senior majoring in Advertising, concentrating in Art Direction, and minoring in Digital Marketing. I’ve had a busy final semester as I’ve juggled my last round of classes, as well as two internships. I am currently the social media marketing intern at Sunflower Philly, a local nonprofit organization that is centered around promoting art, music, and sustainability in Philadelphia through a curated series of events at its park venue in Olde Kensington.

Although my official title relates to marketing, many of my responsibilities relate to designing posters and other branding materials for the Sunflower Philly brand as well as each of its individual events. I also handle some of the brand’s digital marketing efforts in collaboration with other team members. I feel that my education in the art direction program has prepared me well for this internship, because I have become accustomed to the process of constantly refining work until it’s perfect in the eyes of my supervisors. The combination of my curriculum in art direction as well as digital marketing has helped me succeed in a position where I must both design creative content and know how and where to execute it online.

I’ve valued my internship with Sunflower Philly so much because I’ve become close with my coworkers and have become comfortable in a space where I am comfortable incorporating my individuality into my work, and where I am always being encouraged to expand my creativity. I feel lucky to have acquired a position with a company that is hyper-focused on promoting such critical values in a city that I have lived in for the past four years, and that I plan to live in for the foreseeable future. I strongly value the opportunity to work for a company that truly serves its surrounding community, and, further, is comprised of employees who work endlessly to execute its mission.

Despite all of the craziness surrounding COVID-19, I’m lucky to have the ability to continue my internship duties remotely and digitally. It’s certainly been difficult transition to working from home, but I am able to communicate with my coworkers and supervisors daily (thanks to the capabilities of Zoom!). However, Sunflower Philly’s event season was due to begin mid-March; prior to this time, I was constantly told of how great event season was. It’s extremely unfortunate that I haven’t been able to experience the beginning of the company’s event season; nevertheless, I have been busy creating content for the brand’s social media accounts highlighting resources for free food in Philadelphia, as well as healthy & creative activities to keep busy while in self-isolation. I’m proud to be a part of a team that strives to help the community in any way possible — even if it is restricted to digital communication for the time being.

I’m grateful that my position extends until the end of summer; in hopes that all returns to normal by then, I look forward to someday experiencing the events we have been preparing for!