Benchmark Education Company, New Rochelle, NY
This summer, I interned virtually with Benchmark Education Company, a mission-driven educational publishing company that aims to help every student succeed by providing classroom-tested core literacy resources in both English and Spanish. Throughout my time as a social media and marketing intern, I also worked on projects for Benchmark’s children’s book publishing company, Reycraft Books, which aims to create books that interest and represent all children by featuring diverse stories from across the world. From my work with both companies, I learned many valuable lessons that I will appreciate and draw upon throughout my time at Williams.
My biggest project during my internship involved the posting and queuing of social media posts to the Reycraft Books Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. I appreciated the opportunity to learn how to use professional social media queuing software to upload high volumes of content and advertising at once. From this project, I learned the importance of a reliable and prominent social media presence to a company’s marketing strategy. The experience I gained has already informed the way I approach my own engagement with social media platforms and how I develop professional connections online.
Additionally, one of my biggest responsibilities during my internship was the creation of missing “look-insides” for Reycraft Books. This project involved the selection of representative book pages, editing images using graphic design software, and editing the company’s website to include these images in each book listing. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to master Adobe software tools and learn how to edit websites. The experience I gained using software previously unfamiliar to me has given me the confidence to take more risks at Williams and pursue coursework outside of my educational comfort zone.
My favorite project this summer involved the creation of new graphics and copy for social media advertising. I was given the opportunity to select some of my favorite books that Reycraft published, design graphics for social media advertisements, and write and edit copy to accompany the posts. I particularly appreciated the creativity of this project and the opportunity it gave me to develop my confidence in designing and writing social media advertisements for educational products.
I am incredibly grateful to the ’68 Center for Career Exploration and to Martin Collins ’86, for giving me this opportunity to explore the world of educational publishing and contribute to the important work of Benchmark Education and Reycraft Books. It was an honor to be able to work on projects I was so passionate about and contribute to the Benchmark’s efforts to ameliorate literacy gaps in schools. I can see myself pursuing future roles in the world of education and publishing. I am proud of the work this internship allowed me to pursue, especially in an area with such important impacts on equitable educational development.