Learning from the experts

Chelsea Vickers’ dream job is running her own nonprofit organization focused on research and health care.

To help prepare for that future, the senior at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School has spent the summer learning from one of the country’s premier research institutes as a marketing and communications intern.

Vickers’ internship at RTI International, a nonprofit research institute in Research Triangle Park, has given her hands-on experience promoting a research operation from behind the scenes.

“I wanted to work for some company that was making a difference,” said Vickers, who is studying business administration. “I’m not the one doing the research, but it’s important to me that the work I’m doing is making people aware of the research that we’re doing.”

Through her internship, Vickers is supporting the organization by creating social media posts, website briefs and email newsletters that showcase RTI International’s research priority areas, which range from health care to artificial intelligence.

Although she’s held communications roles in campus organizations, the internship has provided an opportunity for Vickers to use what she’s learned in the classroom on a larger scale. She has also picked up some new data analytics abilities that she looks forward to bringing back to her classes this fall.

The experience, she said, has also helped her become more confident in her marketing skills. Through feedback and mentoring from professionals at RTI, Vickers has stopped questioning her abilities and isn’t afraid to ask for help when she needs it.

“I’ve definitely become a lot more comfortable,” she said. “At the beginning of the internship, I spent a lot of time focusing on getting my feet wet in the posting and spent a lot of time questioning whether it was right or not. Now I can easily crank out these social media posts very quickly.”

With a renewed confidence in her abilities and new skillsets to bring to the table, Vickers knows her career running her own nonprofit research group is within reach.

“Seeing the impact that all of this work has been eye-opening,” she said. “Research is a very important field for us to have. I know that it’s a field we’ll always need and will always be useful. … Being here, I’ve definitely known that I made the right decision.”