When Opportunity Knocks

Hello! My name is Bela, and I am a senior advertising major with a copywriting concentration. This semester, I interned remotely with Any Age Activewear, a small e-commerce brand that sells sportswear such as sports bras and leggings to women over 40. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me that seemed to just fall into my lap when I wasn’t even looking.

Thanks to COVID and my decision to transfer to Temple as a junior, this is my first and last year on campus. I didn’t have any internships or jobs lined up for me when I moved here in July, and was initially planning to just focus on my schoolwork and spend money only on necessities. However, by August I had decided to take up dog walking a few times a week through an app called Rover, just for the sake of exercising and exploring the city. I rarely interacted with the owners in person, but one couple wanted me to meet their dog with them present before I walked him.

In making small talk with the couple, I mentioned that I was an advertising student at Temple. Coincidentally, the husband, Joe,  was also involved in marketing and advertising. He made a remark about having an e-commerce business that he owned with his aunt and uncle, and that if I was ever in need of an internship to reach out to him. I thanked him and initially took it as him just being polite and making conversation, not that he was seriously offering me an internship (it was his first time meeting me!). Plus, my semester had already started, and I had a full course load without the internship class so that I could catch up on my requirements after transferring. 

But a few weeks later, he emailed me to say that he was serious about me interning for him, and that I would be getting direct copywriting experience. It all felt too good to be true, and I took the position as a copywriting intern for Any Age Activewear. I had to take an overload course this semester to receive credit for the position, and it has definitely been a bit challenging feeling like I’m behind on my work and behind many of my peers who have been interning since the summer or before. But it was one of those things where it felt like the stars all aligned and the job fell right into my lap; it was too perfect of an opportunity to say no to. 

I have been given assignments that included writing blog posts for Any Age Activewear’s website, finding potential influencers for the brand, creating social media copy, and creating copy for ads and for the website products. There is a very small team of people, and despite it being a remote internship, I was able to collaborate with them during Zoom meetings. I also became familiar with using Slack and Trello as forms of communication, which I know are industry standards for discussing and sharing projects. I worked closely with the head copywriter, who gave me guidance and talked to me about my future as an advertiser. Between her and the owner of the company who offered me the position, I gained so much experience and direction that I feel prepared to take on a position in copywriting once I graduate. 

It was also very exciting to learn not only about the activewear industry, but to learn to write as if I’m a middle-aged woman targeting other middle-aged women. I had never written blogs from the perspective of another person, and learning to find that unique brand voice that can be altered depending on who I work for was definitely the most valuable thing I learned. Everyone treated me like a peer as opposed to an intern, and my input was valued and I felt heard, which was something I did not expect, especially from a remote internship. Even though it was a challenging and at times overwhelming semester, as it comes to a close I truly feel prepared to graduate in the spring. The experience that Any Age Activewear has given me has made me a more confident writer and person overall, and I am glad I listened to my intuition about it being an opportunity I needed to take.