My name is Gabe McNeela, and I am currently a junior at Chapman, set to graduate. I am majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in Creative and Cultural Industries. This semester, I had the amazing opportunity to intern at Disability Solutions as a Marketing Intern!

One of the posts I created for Autistic Pride Day

I discovered this internship opportunity through Handshake, where I applied directly through the Disability Solutions website. After a successful interview with my boss, Ashley, via Teams, I was welcomed to the team alongside five other marketing employees from all over the country.  I was the only marketing intern for the summer, so I had a lot of work on my hands! This internship was remote, so all of my meetings were held on Teams every Monday morning. My boss had a very hands-off approach when mentoring me, allowing me to exercise considerable creative freedom in the marketing department and on social media.  I was responsible for managing social media, website, email, and blog content, creating posts that highlighted the importance of hiring individuals from the neurodivergent community.

This internship personally meant a great deal to me because I identify as part of the disability community. I have always had delays in my whole life, not learning how to walk and talk until I was four years old, as well as being diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder or SPD.  This is a condition where the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information from the five senses, which affects various aspects of my daily life.  Having a position that positively impacts the disabled community means the world to me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to make a difference.

LinkedIn post I made for our collab with Pepsi

My communication classes helped me with the various content I covered during my internship. I found I was leaning on the skills and concepts I learned from my Theories of Persuasion, Interpersonal Communication, and Business Communication classes the most. These classes helped me break down how to approach and collaborate with potential new clients for business and advertising purposes. It also gave me the confidence to speak to these people and convince them of the importance of collaborating with our company to help provide more jobs for the neurodivergent community.

I would highly recommend this internship to anyone interested in the marketing and social media field. It is a great stepping stone for that specific industry, and everyone there was extremely helpful in training me for website development and teaching me how to effectively advertise our brand through social media posts. That being said, my main takeaway from the internship is not to be afraid to try new things, even if you initially don’t like them. Before I started at Disability Solutions, I had no interest in anything related to social media; however, since completing my internship, my opinion has entirely changed! One piece of advice I have is to always maintain an open mind and avoid feeling pressured into pursuing a field that is forced upon you. Everyone is different and unique in their own way, and it is ultimately you who decides what career path you are going to take!