Meet Latinitas Summer 2018 Intern Makenna Martanovic. She is a student at St. Edward’s University expected to graduate May 2019 and is very excited to be on the home stretch! Her major is Communications with a focus in public relations and advertising. Her experience thus far includes several communication courses such as media communication, public relations for nonprofits, and introductory courses to advertising. Last semester, she interned at Giant Noise as a Public Relations Intern. Now at Latinitas, she will be helping out as the Marketing and Communications Intern this summer.
Why did you choose your major?
I chose my major because it is very flexible so I am able to try out several different career paths and internships that my degree can cover to see which one I enjoy the most. The openness of my degree is the main reason why I chose my major, but I also love learning how to communicate with an audience using various platforms such as email, online, social media, and speech. All use different styles.
What made you want to join Latinitas?
I wanted to join the Latinitas team because I have had several friends volunteer here in the past and they had nothing but positive experiences. I have had negative experiences in the past with internships so I wanted to join a team that I could see myself being comfortable in and with people who have a lot to teach. I also love their mission to empower all girls to innovate through media and technology in order to help ensure a successful future.
What extracurricular activities do you participate in?
In the past, I have volunteered with El Buen Samaritano which is a nonprofit organization as well. I enjoyed meeting with the kids there and being able to be a positive influence to them and helping them excel in their education. I also work at HEB as a cashier where I have had to learn how to obtain great customer service. I also spend a lot of my free time watching Grey’s Anatomy, I think I’m currently on my sixth time through the entire series!
Who is one of your role models and why?
One of my role models is my grandma. My grandma has always worked hard in her life and encouraged me to go after my dreams. She is the person I talk to when I need advice or when I need to rant about stress. Anyone who meets her always has the same comment to make — “she is the sweetest” — which is true, in my opinion. I aspire to be a kind, hardworking woman just like her.
What is your idea of a dream job and how will your involvement with Latinitas get you there?
I am still trying to figure out what my dream job is. I had an idea of it at first but it has started to change over time. I do know what I don’t want to do which is a good start to finding out what I do want to do. In addition, I know that I am interested in Marketing so this summer as Latinita’s Marketing intern will be a great learning experience for me.
What is one of your favorite hobbies and how’d you get started with it?
I love traveling! That is definitely one of my hobbies. It started a couple years ago when my boyfriend and I started dating and realized that neither of us have ever been on an airplane. So for our first trip together, we went to Miami for Spring Break and had the best time! Since then, we have been to Colorado twice, Florida, Jamaica and we will be going to the Dominican Republic this summer!
What is one of your guilty pleasures?
One of my guilty pleasures is going to concerts. I have seen so many artists of all different kinds of music genres. Some of these artists include John Mayer, The Lumineers, Drake, and many more. It can be an expensive guilty pleasure so I tend to buy the nose-bleed seats most of the time.
What are the best and worst uses of the internet?
I think that having the internet as a resource for school purposes is one of the best advantages of the Internet. I have been able to use research articles, academic papers and library databases as easy reference tools during my college career which has helped significantly. One disadvantage of the Internet is the effect social media has played on people’s self-esteem. My little cousin who has grown up in the social media era, is constantly worried about her image and getting the most “likes” on her pictures. I think this can be a huge problem to how we see ourselves.
