Kellyn Vale Embraces Opportunity as the Social Media Marketing Intern at St. Jude House

Kellyn Vale Embraces Opportunity as the Social Media Marketing Intern at St. Jude House

There’s no doubt that nonprofits like St. Jude House wouldn’t be able to accomplish the many great things they do without an amazing team. One of those amazing team members is Kellyn Vale, their Social Media Marketing Intern and student from the Calumet College of St. Joseph EON Program.

As the Social Media Marketing Intern, Vale manages St. Jude House’s social media accounts. From scheduling posts to creating engagement, she’s in charge of one of the many ways St. Jude House gets their message out into the community.

“A lot of what I do is with Facebook, making sure things are updated, sending out posts daily or weekly, promote events we have coming, and thankful shoutouts to our donors,” said Vale.

Through CCSJ’s EEON Program, Vale is able to enjoy a valuable internship opportunity. Through these services, students are able to gain experience and build their resume, making them more prepared for life after graduation.

“The EEON program is like a career service department. They search out opportunities for students for internships and job openings in the area. A lot of us are looking for opportunities and experience,” explained Vale.

Being given this opportunity, Vale is glad she opted to take part, and is now focusing on doing her part to aid the organization.

“My mom worked with nonprofits for a long time so to have an internship with a nonprofit that benefits people in a positive way is big for me,” said Vale.

One of her major projects and benefits she’s been able to provide St. Jude House is the creation of their social media strategy. Through this, she’s been able to create a plan for their Facebook and has the basis ready for moving to other platforms.

“A lot of what I’ve been working on, especially the first couple months was developing a marketing strategy and a lot was social media based because that’s where the marketing world is headed,” explained Vale. “Initially the social media marketing strategy was exciting for me because I’ve been learning about it a lot over the last few semesters of school. To be able to build something like that from scratch myself and implement was really awesome.”

As she continues her work with St. Jude House, she’s enjoying the learning opportunities she’s being given. From the ability to create and implement her own strategy, to the ability to view workplace interaction first-hand, Vale is certainly gaining knowledge to help her in the future.

“Everybody around is very supportive and knowledgeable about how this runs and functions. If I have any questions there isn’t a problem,” said Vale. “It’s nice to see how employees function in a real world setting.”

As a member of the Crown Point Community, Vale is happy to not only aid a nonprofit in her own town, but loves her ability to gain experience that will help her in later endeavors.

"Kellyn's talents and skills have dramatically improved the community's awareness of St. Jude House, our mission, and awareness of domestic violence," said Linda Perez, Executive Director of St. Jude House. "We are so thankful that we have been able to add her to our team."