Editor's Note: This story originally appeared in AlumnInsider, the Penn State Alumni Association's monthly member e-newsletter. You can click here for information on becoming a member, and you can follow the Alumni Association on Facebook and Twitter for more stories and updates on events.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Alumni Association or NASA? The internship that showed me what it means to be a Penn Stater or the internship with some of the best social media accounts in the world?Turns out, I didn’t have to choose.I’m currently interning at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and at the Penn State Alumni Association. Even though I work remotely from Houston, it seems I know even more about what’s going on with the Penn State community now than when I was there. My fellow intern, Christine Kilbride, and I are Alumni Association interns sponsored through a generous gift by alumni Dan and Cyndi Woods. They donated to help keep the alumni community connected and informed. How do we help? Christine and I are Strategic Communications interns and focus on crafting and delivering messages to alumni. Christine works primarily on long-form content, and I help out on social media. (Follow the Alumni Association on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!)
At NASA, I focus on social media as well, and it’s the work I've done (and do!) at the Alumni Association that helps me succeed at the Johnson Space Center. From NASA, I'm learning about long-term social media strategy and development. I’m learning about upcoming features, new trends and unique best practices. Then, when I get home, I pop online and work on the Alumni Association’s social media, trying to think of one new way I can develop or analyze it.Penn State alumni don't disappoint on social media.
We have alumni who carve Penn State pumpkins, and who share their stories about THON, parking lots and singing Valentines. We also have alumni who tell us about “We Are!” shouted from the Eiffel Tower and about striking up conversations in airports.
NASA doesn’t have anything on Penn State alumni.My internship with the Alumni Association has helped me cultivate a love for Penn State that I never had before. I learned about alumni like Darryl Daisey (Class of 1983), Stephanie Gursky (2014) and Cynthia Henderson (1997). I learned that the Penn State family extends past football, and I learned that Penn State lives pretty much everywhere, including at mission control.
So thank you, alumni, for being a community that supports careers, goals and achievements inside and outside of sports. Thank you for being a social media community that I love to be a part of, and thank you for supporting the Alumni Association and each other!
#WeAre
P.S. Every time you mention the Alumni Association on social media, I’m reading your post and taking note. We can’t reply or share everything, but we’re still listening. So keep posting, responding and sharing your story. And please visit my daily blog to stay updated on my NASA internship — there's something new and exciting happening every day!