Internship Final Paper - openlab.citytech.cuny.edu · FYP Internship Summary Paper Fall 2016 Samantha Pezzolanti In April 2016, when I was given approval to take the internship course

FYP Internship Summary Paper Fall 2016 Samantha Pezzolanti In April 2016, when I was given approval to take the internship course for Professional and Technical Writing I was elated. I aimed to intern within the college and do some form of social media or digital content management. So, in August when Ilia Silva emailed me asking me if I was interested in working with the First-Year Learning Communities (FYLC) as their Social Media Manager, I was ecstatic and signed on immediately. I was already hired as a peer mentor with the program, but now I was adding another layer to my role in the office and I aspired to add another benefit to an already amazing program. When I first met with Ilia and Lauri Aguirre I wanted a clear idea of what was expected of me as well as the flexibility and room for creativity that I was allowed. I came to find that the FYLC office only had an OpenLab site and a severely neglected Instagram account, in summary, there was a lot of work to be done. I was more than ready to take on the task. The first thing I did was look into the social media guidelines for CityTech, or CUNY in general. What I found was that there is a social media guide or set of rules in process of publication, but it is currently with the university president for consideration. In place of this Ilia told me to exercise my judgement and make sure the account stated clearly that it represented and was affiliated with CUNY. I adapted my corporate experience to my role as social media manager, essentially repurposing my company’s guidelines into ones that suited the FYLC. I set out to first re-establish existing accounts and build a Twitter handle from the ground up. The existing Instagram account was severely mismanaged and the OpenLab was in disarray, between outdated information, ill-fitting menus and poorly formatted documents it needed serious help. The first week of my internship was really learning the ropes. In terms of content creation, the biggest milestone was creating the twitter handle for the FYLC office. I met with Ilia about what she would like to see on the social media pages I’d be running and she also mentioned briefly what she would like to see in the social media handbook I’d author at the conclusion of my 120 hours. I also accessed the office email and was given administrative access to the OpenLab page. I aimed to revamp the entire page because it wasn’t user friendly or visually appealing to anyone who came across it. The three main goals I wanted to accomplish were:

1. Selecting a new layout that is better compatible across all devices and looks clean and concise in grouping all the different genres of information. 2. Get or create a new header image because the present one is not the right dimension for a banner. 3. Clean up the behind the scenes info on the OpenLab so it is easier to manage in the future.

I also aimed to gather information from the Thursday brief and other campus outlets to have information and events to share with students via social media.

During the second week of my internship a lot of heavy lifting was done in terms of content management and usability changes. I immediately got to work finding a new layout for the FYLC

OpenLab page so that all the sections and menus were visible in both desktop and mobile views. I was given a list of tasks in remaking the page and they included; refreshing peer mentor bios, removing all outdated information and regrouping remaining information into practical and easy to maneuver tabs. What I did first was remove the media on the page that was ill fitting or not sized right and then I picked a layout that was bold but clean looking and chose media which I believed to be representative of the office’s mission. I then cleaned up existing peer mentor bios and reached out to the remaining to collect their information. I then met with Lauri where she gave me a list of changes she wanted me to make. Although she liked my media choice she

expressed desire to keep the FYLC theme of leafs going, something I was never told. She also wanted to add some content and refocus and move others to make room for other information she wanted me to add. She also connected me to their designer who I met with to get the images and media that corresponded with the theme. The third week I continued making changes to the OpenLab as Lauri continued to give her criticism and approval of the work I’d done. I created a specialty page for faculty at her request, that would-be password protected and only viewable by staff members. Lauri also asked me to look into altering the color scheme (see image below) of the current layout however, it was not an option with this layout and no other layout offered the usability like the active one. I sampled many different layouts but they made the menu section and finding content very difficult and hard to maneuver. So, in the end I opted to leave the current layout rather and restart the entire site by selecting a new one. I also began aggregating the raw data sent to me into a spread sheet that would be able to go live on the site and be downloaded to a device as well as contain live links when viewed online.

In regards to the social media I attended, and hosted a table at the club fair where I used both Twitter and Instagram to live share the event. I also relayed information like a job fairs, office hours for various departments and academic deadlines view social media. For the following week I aimed to, Create a color coded calendar for students and share it across multiple platforms. The main focus was working on the OpenLab, still patiently waiting for the links to each FYLC course site. The main hiccup in this is faculties delay in sending in the information Lauri requested however, as soon as she sent me information to add I did. The biggest challenge in aggregating the data was the difference in operating systems. I work on an Apple system at home but only have access to windows operating systems on campus which proves to be tricky when things do not always correspond correctly. I tried to alleviate the headache this causes by saving a non-table master list in Microsoft word which experiences less cross over issues.

The next task I worked on was live linking (see image above). With the information I had gotten I began live linking the professors course site with the FYLC offerings page so the information was available to anyone who was looking for information on each section through our site. With this I linked by subject and if there was only one subject I opted to link by professor’s name. I also realized some courses shared one site among 2 or 3 sections so I linked the entire community under one live link. After getting the sites up and running and checking and rechecking usability features I then turned my attention to analytics and engagement surveying. I made a point of trying to determine the user traffic on our sites. This means I was measuring engagement by several factors, “foot” traffic which is how many people view the page in a given time, engagement which ranges from comments to link clicks to shares and finally impression, how many accounts saw each post you’ve made. I’ve been very audience specific hashtagging and geo tagging the school itself so students who are on campus can easily see the content. Upon investigating the user engagement, I was most impressed with twitter because the account went from just above 200 impressions to well over 3,000 in just 28 days. I was also able to see which tweets where viewed most and I found when I tagged CUNY it was a high moving tweet. This information helped me formulate and adjust my plan of action and approach to social media because this let me know that although students haven’t followed the account they still see the information.

The images above are one month apart. Twitter typically runs its monthly numbers in 28 day cycles so in the two months pictured above the numbers skyrocketed. This number has several variables and depends on not only the current month but previous months’ tweets and the frequency they routed people to the home page.

The following week the focus shifted from engagement to expansion as we wanted the program, its mission and its achievements to become more widely known throughout the CityTech community. In addition to working with the FYLC office, I also work with the OpenLab and The Buzz, the schools blog. I am planning a collaboration of the two by writing my weekly blog post about the FYLC program, why I joined and what I feel it gives back to the school. I secured Lauri’s permission and guidance before doing so and she merely requested to proofread it prior to my posting.

I got some really positive feedback from some of the leading professors on the First Year Program committee. They read my collaborative blog post and really enjoyed it and want to do more

collaborations and features pieces. This feedback is welcome news as I wasn't sure how the blog post or the crossover in general would be perceived. I have also recently taken on another social media role for New Tech Times and I hope to collaborate on this end as well. I think sharing information, resources, and time is a great way to build a network and build valuable skills. I enjoyed this collaboration and I would like to do at least one more during my internship, perhaps with the office of student life or new students to showcase the many benefits this program has. I think the biggest asset or skill collaboration offers is to merge idea’s, disciplines and ideas to convey an overall message. In the work world collaborations are a constant and solidifying relationships is highly valued. I then met with Ilia to discuss the way the FYLC advertises and how it grabs student’s attention. Currently the FYLC has posters, bookmarks and folders to hand out to its students but Ilia wants to expand and create new engaging items to give to students. In addition, we also discussed, in collaboration with fellow Mentor, Mariah Rajah, how to unify and create a uniform set of templates and informational documents for the program. This semester I’ve focused on presenting media across multiple platforms and doing so in a colorful and intriguing way. We came to the conclusion that there needs to be a standard, email template, workshop flyer, advisement info sheet, reminder flyer and meeting agenda template. Doing this would make it easier to get information out to students and identify where the document belongs. Outside of in office deliverables Ilia and I discussed creating things like stickers to hand out to students at events rather than bookmarks and pens. We also explored the idea of a “survival kit” for first year college students that would have FYLC logos on it for further engagement. Moving forward the first thing on the agenda for next week is creating templates.

The image above is part of the “survival kit” we drafted. Every month a calendar with FYLC and schoolwide events was created and turned into a PDF that students could download and

save in their phones for reference. In addition to dates and times I also focused on presenting other important information in ways that students would respond to and would visually catch their attention. When midterm grades came out the rubric on blackboard was bland, and hard to find. So, I created a chart, also in PDF, that students could refer to.

In talking to the students in my learning community I was able to determine that bold but simple graphics was what they found to be most useful. The graphic coupled with a caption was enough to get the message across to them. As the semester neared its mid-point I began thinking about expansion and continuing these social media accounts beyond this semester. Although, I have set a solid foundation there needs to be a guide and workflow going forward. I have begun writing the social media handbook, my deliverable for the internship and hope to have a draft in roughly two weeks. In the handbook I’ve identified three clear elements it needs to have.

1. Ethics 2. Strategies 3. Mission

These three elements need to be on the mind of whomever occupies my role in the future. Ethics because they are representing a university, Strategies for identifying and realizing current strengths, weaknesses and trends in social media and lastly, mission and how the tone and approach of the platforms are set. I’ve not yet finalized the breakdown of content but I have an outline to adhere too. I aim to create a culture of digital literacy and awareness of oneself online, if students have a concrete example to adhere to they’re less likely to get discouraged.

After submitting the draft of this handbook to Lauri and Ilia they gave me some suggestions and edits that I implemented for the final version. They also asked me to add a FAQ section for the simple things that might get overlooked but are important to know when handling social media accounts for an institution, or for someone who’s never done so. The most important element of this handbook however was maintaining the base I had already created. I felt focusing in on maintaining would be more beneficial because if you’re interning in the social media field you should have a basic knowledge of the platforms and a preferred strategy for using them both personally and professionally. The section that needed a little more logistic content was OpenLab because it is City Tech specific and students wouldn’t have outside experience with it. I also, in collaboration with Mariah, created a unique snap chat filter for the FYLC end of semester pizza party, it was a low-cost way to send a message to a large audience and students, both those attending and not, that the program was hosting an event on campus.

In my role as an intern as well as the various other positions I hold at the college I have gained crucial and irreplaceable skills and abilities. Not only in doing a task and knowing an industry but in dealing with people, working in a team and sharing a leadership role. I look forward to expanding my skills and my resume as my college career comes to a close. I have ended up giving far more than 120 hours to this project but I can hardly say I noticed. Building this social media base for the FYLC has been immensely rewarding. When I learned I would have to complete an internship for this major I was mildly annoyed because I felt I had ample workplace experience. However, after working with the FYLC and helping them expand the reach of their program, I’m glad it’s a requirement to intern. Interning in the field that I have found I have a niche for has helped me develop my strengths and determine where I need to grow. I think the biggest challenge for me was working with a moving target because the goals and job responsibilities were not static, the needs changed as the semester progressed. At first I was nervous about meeting Lauri’s expectations and I often sought Ilia’s input before I turned things over to Lauri. It was a different experience for me in contrast to my finance job where my boss is laid back and lets me take the lead. After I got myself into a rhythm and figured out what did and did not work for Lauri as well as my own working habits things ran much smoother. This experience was my second with social media as I have already created and managed accounts for the NYC Department of Education. Last year I was approached by a school district in Brooklyn to create a WordPress page and a twitter to better share information with parents. It has become widely recognized by corporations and schools alike that society has moved to a mainly digital flow of information. The confines of these media accounts were different however, because the information was geared towards college students and not the parents of young children. When I started creating content I really just relied on my own preferences and what appeals to my peers when we seek information online. It’s easy to be online all day but making that time count is different, I had to figure out ideal posting times, when students were most active and what caught their eye on sites like Twitter where information moves at a rapid pace. Though this may seem overwhelming my liking of these platforms made it more of a scavenger hunt than a daunting task. I tapped into resources like my peers, my learning community and the greater Twitter community for ideas and guidelines for posting. I also explored third party apps like IFFT and Hootsuite which enable you to schedule tweets and cross post information using formulas like keywords and phrases. For instance, I posted monthly calendars and I could set them up to post without me having to be logged on, making maintaining several accounts much simpler. These third-party apps however had their share of issues, with IFFT I found it needed constant resetting or refreshing to save the formulas I created. These were just minor hiccups I encountered but overall to me IFFT was much more useful than Hootsuite. As I found out later that knowing about these platforms and their affordances would be very beneficial when going on job interviews or applying for other opportunities. At the conclusion of this internship I have found the experience to be immensely rewarding. Outside of the professional workplace experience I have gained valuable connections that I hope

to maintain long after I graduate. I enjoyed working with the FYLC and even more so the students I got to meet. Looking ahead I want to continue my work with the FYLC through the rest of my time here because I believe in the programs mission and it is something I wish I had access too when I began my college career. As I have grown myself academically and professionally I have realized the great value in being a participant in the world around you. Previously I had kept myself and my talents isolated, never giving myself the ability to make connections. This internship as well as this program and the amazing community I have become a part of has enriched my resume, my professionalism and renewed my faith in the world of academia, something I plan to pay forward as I advance in my career goals.