This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2021 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here.
This entry is by Christine Quist, COL ’22
This past summer, I had the opportunity of working as a Business Development intern with Chippin, a sustainability-focused company that is reducing carbon emissions by creating nutritious, low carbon “pawprint” pet food. Being in the middle of a global pandemic, the internship was done under virtual conditions, but this did not take away from the value of my experience.
Coming from a science background, I had been aware of the gravity of climate change and its effects on our world today. However, my involvement in eco-focused projects with Chippin deepened my understanding of these climate-related issues. In one of such projects, I had the chance to develop an ‘Eco Compendium’ with a list of useful articles and resources for use in content creation and sharing on the various Chippin social platforms. In another that was particularly interesting, I collaborated with the amazing Chippin team on social media content that covered the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in a bid to raise awareness about the urgency of cutting down on carbon emissions.
Aside from the more direct eco-centered tasks, I worked on several other sets of projects including one that yielded some significant insights surrounding the Chippin Customer Experience; these projects helped to streamline the customer journey and improve onboarding email flows. As part of my duties, I worked on competitive research, customer journey mapping, and website heatmapping all of which opened my eyes to some of the detailed steps that take place behind the scenes to allow for a smooth customer experience, increased website conversions, and ultimately business growth!
I am very appreciative of the fact that throughout this internship, I was always given the chance to be involved in major decision making. Not only was I able to share my opinions on a variety of important issues, but I also got to learn from the other team members’ thought processes and identify important perspectives that I probably would not have considered on my own.
Coming into this internship, I was eager to explore my interests in the marketing and business development fields. Coming out of this internship, I can confidently say that I have been exposed to several important facets of these fields: I have a better idea of the operations running in a fast- growing startup company, the detailed thoughts and processes that take place behind the scenes, and the strategies for augmenting and maintaining brand visibility in an increasingly digital world. I could go on and on about the richness of my experience at Chippin, but suffice to say, it has given me a better sense of direction with regards to my future endeavors and I am grateful for the opportunity.
