Hi! My name is Ava Marinelli and I am a sophomore majoring in Strategic and Corporate Communication.

When I graduate in a few years I hope to work for a company under their sales/marketing team and work my way up to social media and or sales manager.

This is the production line of the HempMag product going into the machine. The HempMag product is a chew.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of a truly inspiring and hard-working team and company, HempMag Health for Food Pharma. Food Pharma is a food research and development manufacturing company that just came out with their newest product branch, HempMag Health.

The HempMag product suite is a revolutionary dietary supplement designed to address the most common underlying nutrient deficiencies shown to affect mood, focus, stress, and healthy inflammatory response. This company is made up of some of the most creative and intelligent people I have ever met. They are extremely committed to their customers’ success through strong, focused relationships and vendor partnerships. Not only were they committed to their customers’ success but they were committed to my success during my internship as well, which really helped me through what could have otherwise been an overwhelming internship process. Their commitment to teamwork, passion for innovation and the delivery of excellence in the quality of a product and service is truly inspiring and what I look for in a company that I would like to work alongside the future.

This is the second step of the production line where the machine cuts up the product to create a square chew. This machine creates (cuts and wraps) 500 pieces per minute!

This past semester I was lucky enough to intern in the sales department with a social media and marketing internship. Interning in this department has been an eye-opening experience for me and I never thought I would be able to learn so much through a company I didn’t even know about before I got this internship. In my third week in I got the opportunity to sit in on a customer meeting with “GOOP”, Gwyneth Paltrow’s health and wellness company. I was able to learn how a high-end company’s social media team functions and all of the resources they use to create unique and engaging content for their audience.

Not only was I able to sit in on important customer meetings for HempMag, but I was able to learn how to insert ideas efficiently and professionally in a customer meeting setting. By planning, preparing, and attending trade shows and product launches I was able to determine how to communicate with high-end companies versus start-up companies, and how to negotiate different sales tactics for different markets.

In my Intro to Strategic and Corporate Communication (SCC 100) class, I’ve been learning about creating a social marketing plan and it was so awesome that everything I have been learning in SCC 100 has lined up exactly with my internship experiences. Something about this internship that I will never forget is being able to collaborate with HempMag’s doctor of biochemistry in recognizing the efficiency of the product. That experience really stood out to me because of the opportunities to collaborate with someone who comes from such a different field of study than my own and understand the biochemical elements of the product we sell and market for conversations with my customers and team members.

This is the final product! The HempMag chew is chopped up, wrapped and ready to be sent off!

Throughout my internship with HempMag for Food Pharma, my knowledge of sales, marketing, and social media grew so immensely that I am sad my internship has come to an end. I learned so much from the sales manager, the employees, doctors, and even other companies (such as GOOP). I was able to improve my communication skills in professional settings, and during trade shows and product launches, I was able to put my own persuasive skills, knowledge, and creativity regarding the product to the test! I strongly encourage everyone to pursue an internship opportunity because you never know the knowledge, opportunities and/or experiences you may be missing out on!