All of us here at Swift Kick feel absolutely blessed to have been able to work with Kelsie while she interned here. She is a go-getter and always eager to help out an overwhelmed team member. Smart, kind, and funny, we all found friendship with her as well as gaining a colleague for a few months. Her face will be surely missed at our daily meetings. Before she leaves, Kelsie wanted to share what she gained from her internship with Swift Kick.
How do I describe my internship experience at Swift Kick/Student Launcher? That part is easy and I’ll get to that later. The better question is where do I begin explaining everything I have learned?
My first day on the job was spent in New York City for our quarterly retreat. I got to meet my amazing co-workers, see the beautiful co-working space at New Work City, jump in and share my ideas planning for the quarter, feed my butterflies by doing mini blender events on the streets of NYC, and of course there was a lot of room for fun outings with my Swift Kick and Student Launcher team. It was my first trip to New York City and I know it will be an experience I will share for years to come because it was the best first day on the job ever.
I was a student leader at my college of Iowa State University where I led meetings and helped organize events, but I wish I could have had the tools Swift Kick taught me so I could go back and be an even better leader. What did my internship give me?
Organizational Skills
Tom taught me so many tips and tricks how to stay organized and on top of things. I was fascinated how far ahead I could visualize during the planning process of a big project. I learned the difference between tactics and metrics and how to set those goals. Our meeting structure is something I will take with me and use when I lead other meetings in the future. Tom has many trade secrets and access to tools online that are extremely helpful in staying organized and efficient.
One-on-one time with Tom
Besides checking in during our weekly and daily meetings, I would also get one-on-one time with Tom which is where I learned many valuable lessons. Tom would take the time to discuss everything I was working on and we would toss around ideas back and forth. He always made sure I was being challenged, gaining new skills, and getting the most out of my internship experience by always asking what he could do to help prepare for my career path goals. He was not only an awesome boss, but a great mentor and motivated me to do my best.
Emails from Me = Important
I never felt like I was “just the intern” at Swift Kick. My ideas and opinions were valued and I helped lead big projects during the quarter. I organized a lot of promotion for International Student Free Hugs Day and was a main contact to the 60 schools who signed up. It was a huge highlight for me when we reached a pledge count of 55,000 free hugs by students. Another project I was extremely invested in was the organization of the Student Leader Collective. I was co-leader of the Student Leader Collective Leadership Team, meaning I was one of the go-to people with anything related to #SLchat, a community of student leaders coming together to connect and learn from each other. I regularly wrote blog posts for the Student Launcher and Student Leader Collective website, which was always a treat because Tom knew I loved to write.
Dance Floor Theory
Tom was voted National Campus Speaker of the Year 3 times because he is that legit of a dude. I got to be his sidekick at a conference called APCA. I had all access to the conference where I saw motivational speakers, attended educational sessions, enjoyed entertainment by musicians and comedians, and most importantly got to see Tom’s Dance Floor Theory in person. Everything we do at Swift Kick and Student Launcher made that much more sense to me and I further believed in the mission of the company. We try our best to bring student leaders together, build communities, and increase student engagement. I often would take a step back and ask myself, “Am I actually working right now? I can’t be, because this is too awesome.”
So now the easy part. How do I describe my internship experience at Swift Kick/Student Launcher? Extremely educational tailoring the internship towards my interests, inspirational bringing student leaders together, rewarding, and an experience I will never forget. I worked with the coolest people who were always supportive and cheered me on. We were an extremely dynamic team who had way too much fun getting work done, making it an ongoing joke of how could we be as productive as we were when we had equally as much fun.
My advice to anyone who is interested in pursuing this internship is be ready to work hard and set your goals high. Take advantage of learning from this team and the communities of #SAchat and #SLchat (I learned so much by participating in or watching these chats). Being silly is acceptable and encouraged as long as you still work hard, and invest your heart into the work you produce because Swift Kick and Student Launcher are doing beautiful things for student leaders and it is so cool to be a part of. I’m going to miss my Swift Kick/Student Launcher family dearly and am so thankful for the experience.
Thanks for the immeasurable hard work and smiles, Kelsie. Can’t wait to see what big things you do at Salt Institute of Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Feed those butterflies and chase those dreams!
