I interned for DRIVE Livestock, a company that was created in 2011. DRIVE recognizes achievement, encourages personal development and educates livestock youth on the opportunities in agriculture through trendy, consistent, accurate and relevant media.
While at DRIVE, I was the social media and events promotions intern. My duties were directly related to DRIVE social media platforms, which drive our content on our website and in our print publication. I created, developed, maintained and managed our social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. When the new website was ready for use I started incorporating this social media outlet into my daily routine. The goal for every day was to post on Facebook using an image, tweet about something DRIVE was doing or something related to youth in the stock show industry, as well as post a photo on Instagram. The tough part about creating engagement on our social media outlets is that each outlet reaches or engages with a different demographic audience. In addition to managing our social networking accounts, I was also responsible for formulating and executing contests for our followers to participate in.
Throughout this internship I had an opportunity to learn many skills that I considered to be life essentials that I wasn’t expecting to learn throughout the semester. The work environment at DRIVE was very unique. No one at the company was over the age of 30 and therefore the workplace was very competitive even though no one had to compete for their job to keep it. Working as a team to accomplish a goal for a customer was emphasized but carried out in a unique way.
When I started this internship I was hoping it would help me to determine what I want to do with my future. I do not believe marketing and advertising are in my future, but I have learned a great deal that can be applied to just about any career I may choose. The owner for Encore Visions and DRIVE, Jackie Lackey, made a statement early in my internship, which I had heard before but never fully embraced, “competition is key, life is about whom you know, not what you know.” This internship really taught me that especially in the livestock industry, success is determined from hard work, competition and whom one knows.