Erin Chae, WH ’27, San Luis Obispo, CA
Spending my summer as an intern at Wyyerd Fiber was an enlightening experience that allowed me to explore the worlds of digital marketing and the Internet simultaneously. I am incredibly grateful to Career Services and the Wyyerd team for making this opportunity possible. This internship not only gave me insight into the business side of a product or service but also revealed how marketing can bring real value to both the business and the consumer.
Wyyerd Fiber is a fiber-optic internet service provider that uses Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) instead of traditional broadband modems. To be honest, I didn’t know what most of that meant when I first started. However, as I familiarized myself with Fiber Internet and Wyyerd’s brand, I transitioned from thinking like a consumer to thinking like a producer. For instance, one of the first projects I worked on involved using HubSpot to create an email campaign targeting new customers in areas where Wyyerd was expanding its service. Seeing the campaign come together—from crafting the initial message to analyzing open rates—gave me a behind-the-scenes look at how these marketing efforts directly contribute to growth. Another part of my internship involved optimizing the company’s website through SEO, using WordPress. While I wasn’t initially familiar with the intricacies of search rankings, I quickly learned the importance of search algorithms and keyword strategies in helping potential customers find Wyyerd’s services online.
Throughout the internship, I made connections to concepts I had learned in class. Terms like NPS, segmentation, and the customer lifetime journey were familiar, yet they took on new meaning when I applied them in practice. For instance, I was involved in segmenting the customer base for targeted campaigns, which directly impacted how we communicated with different groups of potential users. It was rewarding to see how these strategies helped tailor our messaging to meet the specific needs of different demographics, ultimately enhancing the customer experience. Seeing how these ideas were implemented in real time—and how they could lead to actionable strategies—was an eye-opening experience that a classroom setting simply couldn’t replicate.
Although the Phoenix heat was almost unbearable at times, my time at Wyyerd Fiber showed me that marketing is not just about selling a product; it’s about connecting with people, understanding their needs, and delivering solutions that truly add value to their lives. I enjoyed being part of a team working to deliver a service we all rely on—fast and reliable internet—to more and more communities. This experience has inspired me to continue exploring how I can contribute meaningfully to the world through the work I do.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2024 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
