Indiana INTERNnet celebrated internship excellence on February 23, 2021 at the virtual 15th Annual IMPACT Awards Celebration. While the event may be over, it’s still important to recognize the successes of our nominees! Did you miss the program? Watch it here.
Indiana INTERNnet: Congrats on your nomination for Intern of the Year! What school did you attend, and when did you graduate?
Ashley Harter: I attended DePauw University in Greencastle, IN and graduated early this past December of 2020!
IIN: What are you majoring and minoring in? What made you interested in pursuing that?
AH: I majored in Psychology at DePauw – I’ve always been interested in studying human behavior and cognition, and it has been interesting being able to apply this field to my marketing experience at Anvl!
IIN: Where was your internship? Describe your experience. What were your favorite aspects?
AH: I had an internship with Anvl through the Techpoint Xtern Program and High Alpha Academy. I started as an intern and gained exposure to primarily marketing. However, being an intern in the startup world also meant I was able to gain insight on many other functional areas such as sales, product, customer success, and operations. I was able to get hands-on with Anvl’s blog content, product marketing, website content and design, as well as shadow a variety of sales and customer experiences. It’s difficult to simply say “I did X as an intern” because Anvl provided a variety of experience! I enjoyed that I was able to have my first internship experience in the startup environment, and especially Anvl, where I was able to see multiple levels of collaboration and valued team input. That was my favorite part – even though I have been remote with them since mid-June of 2020, I could (and still can!) still see such a special and welcoming team culture in a Zoom environment.
IIN: What was the most challenging project you were assigned?
AH: Not necessarily a project, but I was nervous entering this internship considering I (1) did not major in Marketing (2) did not have direct experience in a tech environment. For me, it was difficult learning how my experience could be applicable to being an intern at a startup tech company. It was an adjustment, but one that had pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to grow professionally.
IIN: Describe how you developed during this internship. Did you encounter any obstacles?
AH: This internship experience gave me the opportunity to develop both as a professional, and as a person. The more hands-on I got with projects, the more I learned that you do not have to be an ‘X’ major or have a ‘Y’ background to make a valuable contribution. It’s about how hard you’re willing to learn, educate yourself on these topics and projects, and go out of your comfort zone – and for me, I also learned a lot about strengths and skills I did not know I had before and capitalize off of them.
IIN: Was this your first internship? Why did you choose to complete an internship?
AH: This was my first internship, and I am very thankful it was! I chose to pursue an internship experience that not only gave me the hands-on experience I desired, but also was able to challenge me to continue learning and growing – and that’s exactly what I was met with at Anvl! Thanks to Anvl’s CEO and Co-founder Robin, I was introduced to the ins and outs of the startup world and developed skill sets I did not know I had before. I’m happy to say I am still with Anvl as a Marketing Analyst and continuing to learn more about the marketing environment and grow with them.
IIN: What are your future plans and career goals?
AH: Through this experience, I have developed a deep interest in marketing, and I’m continuing to foster this through my career at Anvl and other educational opportunities.
IIN: Why do you think internships are important?
AH: I consider internships to be very important in terms of giving a glimpse into what the professional world is like and understanding where your strengths lie. With any education, there is only so much you can learn without being in the real environment itself. For myself, having hands-on experience as an intern has helped me learn so much about myself and marketing in general in a relatively short period of time
