Hello, I’m Mike Oglesby, and I spent the last six weeks as an intern with the Charles County Economic Development Department (EDD). I was interested in the marketing internship with EDD because in college, I had taken marketing classes as well as a graphic communications class. I really enjoyed all these classes, but most of the marketing I learned was brand marketing. This internship seemed like a great way to get real-world experience in marketing and understand how marketing is used to promote a county versus a brand or product.
My time here was only from June 30th to August 8th. In this short amount of time, I have learned so much not only about marketing, but also about work life in Charles County Government. I mainly worked with Jack Street and Jennifer Reginald, who are a part of the marketing team in EDD. Jack is the data and numbers person, and Jennifer is the creative and social media person.
The things I learned from Jack included making tables and charts in Google Analytics, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Microsoft Excel functions. Jennifer taught me about maintaining the website, social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), and sending email blasts through Constant Contact. Those were just a few things I learned, but I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to all the amazing people who are a part of the EDD team. I learned about all aspects of economic development—not just marketing. After talking to the entire team, I noticed a common theme throughout the office: each division helped each other, forming one big cohesive unit.
Additional things I did during the internship:
- Completed a Google Analytics certificate
- Completed a Microsoft Excel course
- Presented Google Analytics tables/charts
- Posted on social media using Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn
- Created a social media graphic on Canva
- Created a survey using Survey Monkey
- Edited the website
- Attended staff, marketing, and CRM meetings
- Helped conduct interviews for the annual hotel analysis
- Toured facilities around the county, such as the James E. Richmond Science Center at St. Charles High School
I had no idea there were so many different aspects of marketing, and I think this internship helped me narrow down the kinds of marketing that interest me the most. I really enjoyed data analytics because it allowed me to take data and visually show that data in a way that tells a story. I would love to use the knowledge I learned from this internship to get a marketing position within the Charles County Government.
I recommend this internship to anyone interested in marketing! This internship has helped narrow down my career path and pointed me in the right direction for my future.
