By Summer Intern Rachel Jacobs

After a hard and long 2020, the importance of digital marketing and communications has grown exponentially, such as the use of social media to promote and market products like never before. Knowing this, I wanted to gain real-world experience outside the classroom in creating marketing materials, so I applied to the Pension Boards’ Summer Internship Program as a Communications and Marketing Intern with the hopes of doing just that. When I was offered the internship opportunity, I was ecstatic at the idea of expanding my skills and helping such a great organization come up with successful marketing campaigns.

The first few weeks of the internship was a welcoming experience. It allowed me to get immersed in the world of finance and learn about the various programs the Pension Boards offers. Right from the beginning, I was assigned fun and engaging projects that allowed me to understand what the Pension Boards does and how they wish to improve in the future. I am working with a great group of people who gave me constructive feedback on my work that helps me grow as a Marketing and Communications Intern.

The other aspect of the summer internship is the Capstone Project, where all seven of the Pension Boards interns were assigned and tasked with analyzing membership data and coming up with a marketing plan for the Target Annuitization Date (TAD) Funds and the Employee Retirement Contribution Account, a tax-sheltered annuity or TSA. This project allowed me to explore my creativity and develop several marketing ideas, while strengthening my skills on platforms like Adobe InDesign and Adobe Premiere Pro.

Overall, this internship has allowed me to grow as a person and it has been a great opportunity that has exceeded my expectations.