“Wrapping up my Last Semester with Creative Community League”
by Leah Barry
In May of 2021, I began working with Creative Community League as a Social Media Intern. Today, I am shocked by how much growth I’ve been afforded over what felt like one quick year. From creating our infographics on Canva and tracking our progress, to interviewing local artists and organizing volunteers, Creative Community League (CCL) has been an experience in which I was given the autonomy and opportunity to dabble in a little bit of everything.
As a Social Media Intern, the objective to set and pursue goals became a source of motivation since the moment I began this position. Nonetheless, I believe it was a sense of possibility and adaptability that led me to succeed in reaching the goals that I set. For example, within my first month with CCL, it became an objective of mine to “double our Instagram following count” and similarly, “increase overall engagement” on social media platforms. In order to do so, I set forth a number of weekly tasks and standards that I would continue to use throughout my internship.
In addition to doing weekly research on issues surrounding reproductive rights and justice, I spent a great deal of my time strategizing and planning how I would use this material effectively. Over a few months, I found that some infographics were more successful than others, just as I found some projects may essentially fail. For instance, at one point I had hoped to interview college students about their advocacy or artistic involvements on Instagram Live. To cut a long story short, few students were available and interested. Instead, I had the opportunity to interview several local artists over these past few months. This ended up being one of the highlights of my time with CCL. Other highlights from my experience include designing a branding guide for future employees, attending all of our in-person events, and working closely with the service-learning team.
My year at Creative Community League allowed me to grow personally, but it also helped me to gain new skills in strategic marketing and public speaking—experience that I did not previously have. Thank you so much to Amy Irvin and Clare Daniel, my supervisors and mentors throughout this journey.
If you’d like to learn more about Creative Community League, follow our Instagram @creativecommunityleague or visit our website, https://www.creativecommunityleague.com.