A Summertime Well Spent

This summer, Isabella Perry joined the Budd marketing team with a willingness to learn and a passion for storytelling. Over the course of her internship, she gained hands-on experience in content creation, social media strategy, and brand marketing. As she heads back to Coastal Carolina University, Isabella reflects on the lessons, relationships, and moments that shaped her summer at Budd Pools & Spas.

Reflections on My Summer at Budd

As my time here at Budd comes to an end, I wanted to say thank you for such a great experience. Coming into this position, I was excited to learn more about social media and marketing, but I don’t think I realized just how much goes into it behind the scenes.

Learning Beyond the Classroom

One of the biggest things I’ve taken away is learning how to work with a team in a professional environment. Everyone brings different ideas and perspectives, and I’ve learned how important communication and collaboration are in creating content that truly represents the company.

Throughout my internship, I had the opportunity to assist Brenna with social media creation and management across Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. I also helped make and publish weekly content on TikTok that aligned with the company’s goals and image. Being trusted with these responsibilities gave me valuable hands-on experience and showed me what it’s like to work in marketing and social media.

This experience also gave me a real look into what social media and marketing are like outside of the classroom. From planning content and creating graphics to producing TikTok videos and seeing how ideas come together during team meetings, I gained a deeper understanding of what it takes to build a brand and collaborate as part of a marketing team.

Learning from the Team

One of my favorite parts of my time here was getting to learn from everyone on the team and see how each person’s role contributes to the company. Jon took the time to show me different editing techniques in Adobe, including faster tactics and important skills. Those are skills that will be incredibly valuable as I head back to college and continue building my experience in my field.

To be in an environment where everyone specialized in a different area was a unique and valuable experience. Watching Brenna focus on social media strategy and marketing, learning from Jon’s photography and video editing expertise, and seeing Don write blogs and share his industry knowledge opened my eyes to how many different skills come together to create a successful team. As a Sports Media major, it was exciting to see how the skills I’m learning can be applied to many areas beyond sports, giving me a broader perspective on the career opportunities available in the media industry.

I’ve gained more confidence in my creativity, learned to adapt when things don’t go as planned, and discovered how important it is to balance creativity with business goals.

I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who took the time to answer my questions, give feedback, and include me in getting to learn everything. This experience has helped me grow both personally and professionally, and I’m excited to take everything I’ve learned with me as I continue my career at Coastal Carolina University.

Thank you all for making this such a memorable experience.

 

Isabella Perry is a junior at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, where she is pursuing a degree in Sports Media.