COMS Major Maya Fiorella Intern with Civity, a non-profit organization focusing on Community Engagement

by Amanda Salvador
December 3, 2021
Maya photo

Communications Major Maya Fiorella has a passion for social media. She was able to llearn more about social platforms and networks during her internship with Civity, a non-profit organization focusing community engagement. Fiorella had a chance to not only create posts but to  interview guests for their podcast, and edit video and audio clips. Fiorella feels that she now has a deeper understanding of communicating for a specific target audience and gained new video editing skills.

Fiorella said she enjoyed practicing Civity’s mission by engaging with people who share different opinions or values. She practiced Civity’s core mission by talking to strangers more often, and opened her mind to differences of opinion. “I have made new friends and gained deeper insight into the human connection throughout my internship,” said Fiorella.

. What do you do at your internship?

I am interning at a non-profit organization called Civity. I am in charge of their social media platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I also assist on other communication projects such as interviewing podcast guests, developing their website, writing blog posts, and editing video and audio clips.

2. What did you learn from this internship that you didn’t expect to learn?

I have learned a holistic view of how a non-profit organization promotes information to their respective audience. I was familiar with social media before the internship, but have learned a deeper understanding of how to communicate a message for their specific target audience.

3. Most surprising thing you learned/experienced from this internship?

I have been able to sit in on many podcast interviews, which allowed me to better understand how to frame a thought-provoking question. I also was able to learn more about editing audio via Adobe. Before the internship I knew basic cuts, but I now understand how to adjust the amplitude, chop off peaks, normalize all channels equally, reduce the room tone, and sweep through frequencies.

4. Most delightful part of your internship?

The most delightful part of my internship has been understanding and practicing Civity's mission. Civity is a culture of deliberately engaging with people who share different opinions or values than yourself. I practice Civity by talking to strangers more often, and opening my mind to differences of opinion. I have made new friends and gained deeper insight into the human connection throughout my internship.

5. How have you grown as a person from this experience?

have grown both academically and individually through my internship. I intensely learned all parts of the communication process specifically in a non-profit organization. Civity is a small team, so I was able to take on large responsibilities and in turn, learned how to independently work on multiple different communication strategies at once. I also grew individually by practicing Civity's mission. I learned to be more confident in my own abilities within my roles, while also challenging myself creatively to share my perspective with the team.