Mallory Fonte
Major: Communication
Social Media and Marketing Intern, CCA Sports
How did you learn about this internship opportunity?
I learned about this opportunity LinkedIn!
How has your internship helped build your skills and clarify your career goals? How did being a Liberal Arts student at Purdue apply to your internship?
I had the chance to put my social media skills to work in the sports industry while diving into influencer marketing for the first time! I led a campaign promoting CCA’s summer bar crawl, producing eight social posts between July 1–21, 2025, that generated 23,000 views and drove 30% of ticket sales. I also facilitated an influencer partnership from start to finish-managing outreach, creating the brief, and delivering the final content-which brought in an additional 13.6k views! Previous classes at Purdue helped me prepare for this internship by giving me practice working with real-world clients, sticking to a posting schedule, and learning how to successfully create campaigns!
What is a piece of advice you would give someone in your major looking for an internship?
My piece of advice to individuals looking for an internship is to work with small businesses! You don't need to be interning at a big-name company to have a successful internship experience. Small businesses also usually have more flexibility with scheduling, creative freedom, and it gives you the opportunity to build relationships throughout the whole company, rather than just your team!
What key responsibilities or tasks have you taken on during your internship?
My day-to-day responsibilities included social media management and creation, answering any marketing related emails and direct messages, going out to leagues during the evening and gathering content, and supporting any miscellaneous marketing needs/efforts.
In what ways has the College of Liberal Arts at Purdue University supported your internship journey? How has your participation in our job-ready program specifically aided your professional development?
One of the biggest advantages of being a CLA student is our amazing staff! Because our staff is so diverse (and have experience in so many different industries), I've gotten to take classes that have helped me in every aspect of social media marketing! Whether it's a customer needs an analysis, social content scheduling, the logistics of working camera equipment, or interview tips, I have been lucky enough to take classes that cover all my areas of interest! Additionally, every professor I've had at Purdue WANTS to see you succeed, and not only that, but they are also always willing to go out of their way to help you do so!
Could you highlight a standout aspect of your experience in this program that you find particularly noteworthy?
One standout from my experience would be learning to work and manage my projects and time individually. I was very much a one-man crew, so it was important to learn how to prioritize projects in that environment!