Name: Yi Ren
Class Year: 2023
Major: History of Art and Fine Arts
Hometown: Fuzhou, China
Internship Organization: NYLife360
Job Title: Assistant of Marketing
Location: New York (hybrid)
What’s happening at your internship?
The first two weeks of my summer internship consisted of doing on-site training in New York. The training included learning new office software to communicate with another team in China, learning the overall structure of the company, and visiting residential apartments in Jersey City and Manhattan to record videos and take pictures. This is an information collection phase for future editorials of social media posts and references since I will be working remotely in Ardmore for the rest of the internship. Because of the opportunity of an on-site visit, I’m able to get a better sense of different communities, from public transportation, safety, rent, amenities etc. I also have the chance to spend lots of time with my supervisor face to face to get her first-hand experience in New York’s real estate market and advice for my career path.
Why did you apply for this internship?
My internship in the spring semester of 2022 was a marketing job for the Asian Art Museum. I’m interested in designing social media posts and posters, and doing marketing research. The readings and homework I have done for my majors build up the skills in illustration and research. Therefore, I hope to find a job that both accomplishes my needs for living and my interests. Working in a real estate company gives me a new opportunity to explore different possibilities with my majors besides from museums and cultural organizations, which are more idealistic. I think the experience in different areas will help me better decide what I truly want before rushing into a long-term job. Besides, I really enjoyed remote working when I did my previous internship. It enables me to have a good balance of work and life.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced at your internship?
It’s definitely a new area I’m working on even though I have experience with maintaining social media, painting, and photography. I also need to learn a lot of information on the real estate market and communication skills with customers. The things I’ve learnt from school are very utopian, while in the working environment it’s more complicated and sometimes there is not a right or wrong answer. I think it’s also a transition from student to employee, where I’m expected to solve more problems on my own.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.