Get to know more about Vanessa Medina and her experience as a Bilingual Marketing Intern for Nativa during the Summer of 2019. In this article, Vanessa discusses what motivated her to take this internship opportunity, what she has learned so far while working with the Nativa team, and the three biggest lessons that she learned during her time in our office.
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in the city of Caracas, Venezuela. I moved to Arizona after graduating from high school in the pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. I grew up around the same group of family, friends and educators from when I was 5 until I was 17. Coming to a new country where people speak a different language and opening myself to a whole new social environment was definitely a challenge for me.
What do you currently do?
I am a third-year student of Marketing at Arizona State University, planning to graduate in December 2020.
What do you want to do in the future?
I would like to start my journey into an MBA immediately after I get my Bachelor’s. After this, I will take a few years to travel around the world and learn a new language (maybe Italian) before applying for the big jobs. I would love to work for a globally renowned company such as P&G or Unilever and work my way to the top within their Marketing departments. My dream job is to be a mastermind behind the most influential marketing campaigns in the world.
Why did you take the internship with Nativa?
When I came to Arizona I immediately noticed the presence of a large Hispanic community. I always knew I could benefit from this from a professional perspective, so when I began looking for internships I specifically looked for opportunities where I could use my ability to speak both English and Spanish as my main strength, while still learning hands-on about Marketing, Data Analysis, and more. That’s how Nativa popped up in my internship search through Handshake.com. During my interview with the co-founder of Nativa, Eric Diaz, he told me a bit about OYE!, a software tool that he co founded, with the help of an entire development team. They created this software to identify and study Hispanic consumers through a unique algorithm. I was impressed and decided that I wanted to learn more about this business, and that’s why I took the internship.
What are you looking forward to learning with Nativa?
I am looking forward to learning more about data analysis, which I feel is different from what I’ve learned in the classroom. In general, I’m looking forward to learning something from each person that is currently working at the company.
What have you learned so far?
So far I’ve learned how to use basic digital tools and programs that honestly I had no idea existed and that I know will be helpful for future jobs. Programs such as Slack, Asana, Wordpress, Social Studio, Qwirl, MailChimp, and more. I have completed two different OYE research studies on my own with topics including Food Delivery Apps and Fast Fashion Stores. Running the entire process for these studies has really pushed me to improve my attention to detail. Additionally, I have been involved will all the social media activity of the company, drafting posts and interacting with several of the multicultural influencers we work with. I even had the chance to interview one of the influencers in Spanish and publish a blog about her in both English and Spanish.
Hobbies?
Two years ago I fell in love with CrossFit and the feeling I have after every workout. I usually work out for 1 hour every night after school. It’s always my happiest moment of the day. On the weekends I love spending time with the people that I love. It’s never a good week for me if it doesn’t end with a nice family/friends get-together.
Something interesting about you people would not know?
I eat a lot, way more than an average male (even though I’m a female). To put this into perspective, I could eat a large pizza from Domino’s by myself and then a full tub of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m more into the healthy stuff).
Other Marketing Interests?
I have always had a passion for graphic design, photography, illustration, and lettering. I would love to dig deeper into those artistic areas, become more skilled and hopefully incorporate those skills into my future Marketing profession.
Before leaving for school, Vanessa shared with us the 3 biggest lessons that she learned during her internship with us:
