Ian Opaluch ’17
Internship: Wheaton Innovates at MassChallenge
Major: Economics
Building business. “In the beginning of the internship, we personally introduced ourselves to each company and described our role in offering free digital services to start-ups. We also printed and handed out dozens of brochures and offered free professional headshots to introduce ourselves to as many potential clients as possible.”
Demand curve. “As we’ve completed projects, it seems that word has gotten around about our services. In fact, we now have too many project requests to complete—particularly when it comes to video. Every start-up looks for a way to tell their company’s story, so outreach through video, web, and social media is vital to a business’s success.”
Professional development. “WIN (Wheaton Innovates) at MassChallenge allowed me to develop a number of my marketing skills – including photography, videography, web development, and market research. While my best skills lie in video, I don’t want to become a one-skill employee. To that end, I’ve made an effort to accept internships and take classes related to photography, web, and business. This is the rationale that led me to declaring economics as a major.”
Landing the job. “My favorite projects focused on the earliest steps of creating or refocusing a marketing campaign. A lot of start-ups seem to harp on the idea of fixing a problem that a consumer has. While this has a lot of merit, many of the marketing experts at MassChallenge say you’ll resonate more with consumers when creating more positive marketing messages. It’s good to keep this idea in mind when accepting more specific projects, as you want to make sure that a video or website is properly conveying the message or story that the start-up wants to tell.”
Favorite moment. “While my favorite moments mostly relate to video production, I think the most exciting part of the internship has just been how busy we are. My freshman and sophomore-year internships had instances of standing around and waiting for work to come in. Wheaton Innovates with MassChallenge is the exact opposite of that. From the moment we stepped in, we’ve all been extremely busy meeting with clients and completing projects. I feel that I have accomplished a lot at the end of each day.”
Classroom connections. “The skills I’m employing at my Boston internship significantly overlap with the skills I’ve been learning in the classroom. I’ve taken multiple web development and film classes, and have also worked as a video producer for Professor Patrick Johnson. I’m not certain about what I’ll do after graduation, but I certainly want to be utilizing these same skills in the real world.”
More summer internships
Wheaton students gain essential career skills at sites throughout the country and around the world with support from internship funding. These opportunities are part of the college’s commitment to experiential learning formalized through the Wheaton Edge. Return to main page
