Aloha! I am Lauren Kalama, a junior Strategic and Corporate Communication major with a double minor in Sociology and Creative and Cultural Industries. This past fall, I had the opportunity to be a Marketing and Logistics Intern at Hawaiiverse. Hawaiiverse is the #1 discovery platform to connect consumers with Hawaiʻi owned businesses and locally sourced Hawaiʻi inspired fashion, art, home goods, food, and more. Hawaiiverse began as a Facebook group in 2016 but was later reimagined and pivoted to support local Hawaiʻi businesses, starting with just 40 in their hometown of Hilo, Hawaiʻi. Today, they are the state’s largest free coupon directory and online store, working with over 1,100 businesses.

HawaiiVerse Logo

Being born and raised on the island of Maui, my love for Hawaiian culture and my community runs deep. When searching for internships, I knew I wanted to connect my passion for Hawaiian culture advocacy and marketing. Hawaiiverse’s mission is to “seek to revitalize the Hawaiʻi economy by empowering local business owners to achieve success” (https://hawaiiverse.com/), and that is precisely what they do. By encouraging others to shop local, save local, and support local, Hawaiʻi can grow sustainably. Through the help of my high school’s internship program, Kāpili ‘Oihana, I learned about Hawaiiverse and knew that I wanted to be a part of their team. 

A graphic series that I created for Hawaiiverse’s social media accounts

While interning with them, I focused mainly on email marketing and content creation. I worked remotely, completing 10 hours a week for 12 weeks. I managed Hawaiiverse’s LinkedIn account, creating graphics to appeal to businesses and partnerships and designing their weekly newsletter. I also made additional content for their other social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok. A few of my favorite projects while working with Hawaiiverse included writing my blog on Native Hawaiian plant month, filming and editing the “I support local” trend video, and being able to increase sales/open rate through weekly emails. Through these experiences, I not only learned more about strengthening Hawaiʻi’s economy, but I was able to apply my learnings from previous communication courses.

A typical day of working on our weekly newsletters

A course in particular that prepared me for my internship was Dr. Sara LaBelle’s SCC 400 class (Message Design II). SCC 400 helped me learn how to plan and execute a marketing campaign, feel confident in managing my time wisely, create graphics, and communicate effectively with my site supervisor for this internship. I am beyond grateful to have worked alongside the fantastic Hawaiiverse team and to have been able to give back to my community, although I am hundreds of miles away. From this experience,  I am excited and optimistic about continuing to work within the field of marketing and communication.

My advice to anyone currently looking for internships is to be patient, know that it will always work out, and do something that makes you happy.