Interning during a Pandemic

VIRTUAL INTERNSHIP AT RANCHO LOS CERRITOS DURING A PANDEMIC

Even though times are tough right now, during the summer of 2020 I was ecstatic to receive a virtual internship with Rancho Los Cerritos! Here’s a little bit on that experience…

Name and Title: Misael Enamorado, Marketing and Public Relations Intern

Education info: California State University Long Beach: Marketing and Sociology double major

What led you to pursue an internship at the Rancho?

I’ve known of and been visiting the Rancho for around 10 years now. I was introduced to it during a school field trip in elementary school. All I remember from this trip was seeing the big adobe home and thinking how cool it would be to live in there some day (little did I know that inside was a museum!). After that school field trip, I didn’t visit the Rancho again until I was around 18 years old, in which this time I came with my family. My family loved it! My mom especially couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful the trees were. She was shocked by how close this place was to our home and upset at the fact that we didn’t bring her any time sooner. Receiving this internship took about a year or so. I first tried applying in 2019, but applications for this position were closed. I didn’t give up; thus, applied again in 2020 in which I became an intern under Getty Marrow’s undergraduate internship program.

What were some of the tasks you did while interning here?

Some of the things that I worked on while at the Rancho were creating social media posts, editing videos for our weekly (virtual) Storytimes, working on press releases, setting up email campaigns, making banners, making posters and much more that would be too extensive to fit here. Overall, I enjoyed all of the tasks that I had to do because they correlated with my interests.

What was your favorite part of the internship?

I would say that my favorite part about this internship was getting to meet everyone at the Rancho and building those connections. Even though it was mainly remote, I was still able to ask any of the staff for help when I needed it.

What was the most interesting artifact you came across while promoting our new online exhibits?

While promoting some of our new online exhibits, my favorite artifact  would have to be the Tongva Basket in the Tevaaxa’nga to Today exhibit. I just think it’s really beautiful and well-made (I would’ve never guessed that it’s made out of nature!)

What are your hobbies/passions?

My hobbies are hiking, taking photographs, editing videos, thrift shopping and trying out new restaurants (when there isn’t a pandemic of course!).

What are your plans after completing your internship?

My main plan after this internship is to complete my two degrees in Marketing and Sociology. I then plan to start looking for nonprofit jobs within the Marketing or Public Relations fields.