51视频

When Governor Maura Healey announced a $400 million initiative to support research in Massachusetts, business major Meghan Dearing was there at the State House, capturing social media content for UMass President Marty Meehan 鈥�78.

As a communications intern for the UMass President鈥檚 Office in downtown Boston, Dearing has had an unexpected front-row seat to state politics.

鈥淚鈥檝e learned just how closely connected we are as a public university with the state,鈥� says Dearing, who is from Dracut, Massachusetts. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 really unique about this internship: I鈥檝e probably been to the State House more times this summer than most people have in their lives.鈥澛犅�

Dearing鈥檚 paid, full-time summer will continue part time through her senior year, allowing her to grow her skills in strategy and storytelling while completing her double concentration in marketing and management. She also serves as president of the Marketing Society.

鈥淗aving that hands-on work experience is so different from being in a classroom or reading a textbook,鈥� says Dearing, whose work includes scheduling content, writing posts that amplify faculty and student achievements, updating web content and analyzing system-wide data across the five UMass campuses and the UMass School of Law.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a dream to be in college and have a job in Boston,鈥� says Dearing, who commutes by train to the city three days a week for the hybrid role. 鈥淎 few of my friends have internships in the city, too, so we鈥檒l hang out and have fun after work.鈥�

Dearing鈥檚 internship builds on a six-month cooperative education (co-op) job at Enterprise Bank in Lowell, where she managed community-focused social media content and developed back-end web skills. That experience, she says, prepared her for the high-level communications work she鈥檚 doing now.

鈥淚 didn't have a great understanding of what a co-op was coming into college, but the helped me so much,鈥� she says. 鈥淢y co-op put me in the position that I鈥檓 in now, and I think it鈥檚 going to lead to some great career opportunities.鈥�

Dearing鈥檚 interest in business began in high school, where she ran the school store and worked at Jeanne D鈥橝rc Credit Union. When it was time for college, 51视频 checked two key boxes: It had a strong business school with leadership opportunities, and it was close enough to home so she could commute. Her mother, Maura (Porter) Dearing 鈥�97, is also an alum.

Although she initially felt disconnected as a commuter, Dearing quickly got involved in student organizations, including Joy Tong Women in Business, the International Business Association and the Management, Finance and Marketing societies.聽

鈥淚 made a lot of friends in the business school, and that鈥檚 what makes me love the school. I really feel included here,鈥� says Dearing, who also served as a student ambassador for the Manning School of Business and studied abroad in San Sebasti谩n, Spain, through the Honors College.

Dearing hopes to pursue a career in brand marketing or public relations, blending strategy, creativity and communication. She鈥檚 also learning the programming languages Python and R to strengthen her digital skill set.

鈥淚 never thought I would like communications this much,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut the writing and research really interest me. I want to manage the big picture someday 鈥� not just post on social, but lead the strategy behind it.鈥�