Internships offer our students excellent opportunities to get hands-on experience in all aspects of marketing. During the summer of 2013, Caitlin Taylor ’14 completed an internship in marketing and social media at The Blaze, a multi-platform news, information, and entertainment network headquartered in New York City and Dallas. Caitlin worked to identify new cable affiliates and assisted the marketing department on “Get The Blaze” projects, including crafting call-to-action posts for Facebook and Twitter, organizing a media discussion panel in Washington D.C. with U.S. Congressmen and Senators, and traveling to the National Cable Television Cooperative Conference in San Diego. Caitlin found her internship by initially connecting on LinkedIn with UConn alumnus Christopher Balfe, President and COO of Mercury Radio Arts, who currently heads up The Blaze.

Caitlin credits the UConn School of Business for providing her with a solid foundation of coursework which led to her success in this position. She stated, “I had to personally sell the network in person and over the phone—my sales classes gave me the tools and experience through the semester long role plays to successfully connect with affiliates to close the deal. Before my internship, I never really considered the media industry. I enjoyed the dynamic environment so much so that I wish to seek out other full-time opportunities in the media world.”

If you or your company are interested in hosting a summer marketing or sales intern, please contact William Ryan, Marketing Instructor in Residence,william.ryan@business.uconn.edu