This summer, we were fortunate to have four talented interns join us virtually at NISM. Throughout the internship, they gained hands-on experience crafting content, engaging with our community, and applying social media strategies learned through our course materials. They participated in weekly SMS prep courses led by Jennifer Radke and benefited from insightful feedback sessions with their mentor Celeste Russell. Additionally, Q&A sessions with our Advisory Board members provided them with fresh perspectives from seasoned professionals. Each of them has shown a strong commitment to learning and growing in the field of social media marketing, and they’ve worked closely with our team to prepare for the SMS Certification exam.

As their internship comes to a close, we’re excited to highlight each intern and share their journey with you. Today we’re pleased to introduce you to Taylor Munghia. Learn more about Taylor and join us in supporting her professional journey by connecting with her through LinkedIn or leaving a comment below.

 

Hi, Taylor! To kick things off, could you share a bit about your background and what led you to join this internship?

I was born and raised in Gulfport Mississippi and I studied Business Marketing at the University of Southern Mississippi. I wanted to grow my expertise in the marketing field, so I ended up adding a minor in social media content and strategy to my education. I instantly fell in love with social media marketing, and I was hungry to learn more. I graduated with my undergraduate in May 2024 and instantly went on the hunt for an internship in this field so I could become more confident with my skills before I started looking for a career. I found NISM’s internship application online and applied that day. The internship granted me the flexibility to learn on my own time and also gave me the opportunity to keep learning. What really drew me in is the fact that they were not expecting me to know it all and they offered mentorship. As a recent graduate, I still felt like I needed a bit more training before I could look at my employer and tell them they can trust me with their brand. 

You were smart to strengthen those skills before entering the workforce! What aspects of this internship stood out to you as particularly impactful?

I would like to say that all the aspects of this internship where impactful, but if I had to pick one, I would say it was the ability to meet with board members. Everyone that I met was an extremely impressive individual. I learned something new from each of them and they all had advice that I will carry with me throughout my career. They all have something that I admired, and it felt reassuring to know that they were all in my position once. I loved the fact that I had the chance to speak with them and ask questions. Its not everyday you can say you talked to someone that you want to be one day.

We’re so glad you found value connecting with our amazing board members. Would you like to give a shoutout to anyone in particular?

One person who stood out to me the most and changed my way of thinking when we spoke was RJ Thompson. His LinkedIn profile alone will help you understand why I found him so fascinating. RJ was the most interesting and inspiring individual I have ever met, mostly because of his mindset on life. Anyone can have an impressive resume and background, but RJ is the type of person that you will never forget. He said something when we spoke that I will always remember, and it was “What value do you have? We are all creative professionals, so show what people can’t teach you.” This was something I wrote down because everyone can be taught a skill but not everyone can be taught to be you. RJ is all about making himself valuable. He continuously learns and develops new skills that make him more valuable as a professional. His advice to us to show what people cannot teach you made me realize that it isn’t about proving that you can do what others can do but it’s about proving you can do what others can do and more. Whatever your skills are, show people that no one can do it better, or in his words show that you can’t be substituted. His perspective made an impact on me in a way that made me want to never stop learning and developing new things that make me stand out.

What an amazing source of inspiration! Now, over the last 12 weeks you’ve been given the opportunity to create real content and engage in a variety of ways with our online communities. How did this hands-on approach shape your understanding of social media strategy? 

You can draw up a step-by-step instruction manual on how to do something, but at the end of the day you really don’t know how to do it until you do it yourself. I spent 4 years learning about the ins and outs of everything marketing, but being able to apply those skills and market for a real company is when I learned the most. These last 12 weeks have given me the deeper understanding that I was missing. I practiced all of these same skills in school, but it never felt real. I had so much going on as a student that I was more focused on trying to pass my classes than I was trying to learn how to apply the concepts I was learning. As an NISM intern I was actively applying what I was learning to real-life tasks.

Well we certainly enjoyed watching your skills improve as the summer progressed. How do you plan to use the knowledge and skills you’ve gained during this internship to achieve your professional goals?

This internship has taught me the finer details of social media strategy that I was missing. When I first started making content I had so many small errors that I did not catch that I really started to doubt my career path. After my mentor pointed them out though I started to make content with those past mistakes in mind and ended up having little to no errors in most of them. There were things that I did not consider like the image I had on a graphic not matching the mood of the words, if someone couldn’t see the image and could only read the captain would they be confused, and if the content matched the voice of the brand. These are all things that I had to learn to consider when I created my content, and they are also things that I will always consider when I start making content for another company.

It certainly sounds like you’re equipped with a new set of professional tools, and we can’t wait to see what you accomplish with them. Before we go, what advice would you give to future interns or aspiring Social Media Strategists who are considering pursuing the SMS Certification? How can they make the most of their learning and internship experiences?

My best advice is do not assume you know it all because in this industry you never will. Become a sponge and keep soaking up as much as you can for the rest of your life. The SMS certification teaches you the finer details that you are probably lacking. It was created by multiple social media professionals that have been in the industry for years and they know what they are talking about. Everyone can learn something new from getting certified and from the internship. Make the most of this experience and network when you talk to these professionals, take any and all constructive criticism as a learning experience, and use this time to make mistakes because there are professionals around you who can help.

Taylor, thank you so much for your time today and for joining us this summer. We wish you all the best as you prepare to sit for your SMS exam. Readers, we hope you’ll connect with her on LinkedIn and support her as she continues her journey!