Skegee Spotlight: Melody Wilson
May 07, 2018
As the spring semester comes to an end and the summer approaches, many students are preparing to return home. However, junior sales and marketing major Melody Wilson will not be spending her summer in her native Birmingham. Instead, she is heading to the 鈥淏ig Apple鈥� as an intern for one of the biggest media networks, NBCUniversal.
Finding Her Passion
Since Melody鈥檚 mom is a nurse, Melody thought she too wanted to be one as she recalled, 鈥淚nitially I came into Tuskegee as a nursing major, but I learned that it was not my true calling. Once I considered that I loved to communicate and create things, I chose marketing.鈥�
For a short time, she pondered at the idea of public relations, but again she found this was not her niche due to the amount of writing involved. So, she pursued sales and marketing as a way she could manage projects to get the job done.
鈥淪ecuring the Bag鈥�
With an impressive resume, Melody was bound to land an internship. She is currently the president of the Golden Voices Concert Choir, the media chair for multiple campus organizations, the project/content manager for Campus Digest (Tuskegee鈥檚 student newspaper), a university ambassador, and the 2018-19 marketing director for the Student Government Association. Along with these leadership roles, she has held four internships and volunteered in multiple marketing departments with different organizations 鈥� the first steps to 鈥渟ecuring the bag鈥� by gaining valuable career experience while in college.
It is for these reasons that she stood out among thousands of applicants applying for the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Fellowship Program. The program helps prepare participants for careers in the media. She was offered an internship in the Advertising Sales Department of NBCUniversal.
鈥淚 am especially excited about learning the different aspects of marketing,鈥� Melody said. 鈥淚 find out every day that the field is so diverse. Marketing is a huge umbrella for the many functions that are part of it.鈥�
She admits that she is a little wary of being placed in the sales role, however, she attests, 鈥渋n a marketing career, you have to be well-rounded. Focusing only on one aspect will not produce the greatest outcome.鈥�
Tips
鈥淕o get it, do not hold back,鈥� Melody advised her classmates considering internships. She landed an internship her freshman year while many wondered why she was so determined to complete an internship early. She describes herself as someone who is eager to learn, thus, in order to land successful internships, you have to be dedicated to building an early foundation for success.
As Melody embarks on her journey, there is no doubt she will be successful. But, she notes that you have to 鈥渢ake risks, be uncomfortable, and be hungry. If you can do that, then something great is in your future.鈥�
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