On Building a Community
As the fall semester comes to a close, #UNHSocial wanted to take some time to thank our graduating senior, Gabrielle Podmore ‘21. She’s been a key member of the student social media team, putting her creativity to work on posts for current and future Wildcats alike. I asked her some questions about her experience interning with the social media team and how she’ll take what she learned here out into the world.
How long have you been a #UNHSocial intern?
I started as a #UNHSocial intern at the beginning of my sophomore year after seeing a listing for it on Handshake, a UNH career platform where you can look for jobs and internships both on-campus and off. Now I'm a senior, so that's two and a half years of working with current and future Wildcats to best showcase our university.
What do you think helped build the following for the undergraduate admissions social channels?
When I first came on the team, the @beaunhwildcat Instagram account only had around 1,000 followers and now it has over 4,000. I think it grew for multiple reasons, including consistent and engaging content as well as emails directing new students to the accounts.
What was your favorite project?
It's hard to pick a favorite project since I've done so many different ones over the years. I really love when I get to be creative and make graphics that turn important information into accessible Instagram stories, like I did with “Why UNH?” and “UNH by the numbers.” I also loved hosting the Cat Chats segment on the @ufonh Instagram stories!
What is something you learned from this internship that you didn’t expect?
I've learned lots throughout my time here on the content side of things as well as the people side of things. I've learned people love to see organic and un-staged content rather than professional content. People also can get really engaged if you have the right prompts or an incentive for them to enter something. I've also learned how passionate current and future Wildcats are about UNH! One thing that I spend a lot of time on now that didn't even really exist when I started is TikTok, so that just goes to show how fast platforms can become important to a social media strategy.
The pandemic made everything extra hard. What is one thing you wished you’d been able to do but couldn’t because of COVID?
The pandemic definitely halted a lot of operations for the team. I especially missed being in the office with the other interns and collaborating day to day. I also missed not covering events like fairs and sports games. Right before COVID, we were going to do a series on places to ski in NH, which we never got to finish but I think would've been a lot of fun.
On the flip side, what is one strength you gained from coping with the pandemic?
One strength I've gained from having to cope with the pandemic is knowing how to create my own content. It's all about getting creative. I also learned to appreciate all the things I took for granted, such as just walking around campus and talking to students without a mask!
You are graduating early which is super impressive. How did you do it?
Thank you! I am graduating early and that's for a couple of different reasons. I came into college with extra credits from AP and Running Start courses, which allowed me to get a head start. I then took an extra class a couple of semesters, which put me a whole semester ahead. I decided I'd take that opportunity to graduate early to spend tuition money elsewhere.
What’s next? Will you be back to walk with the class of 2022?
Yes! I plan to be back to walk with my friends and classmates in May of 2022. Between now and then, I want to use my time to travel while I can and make lifelong memories. I'm about to book a flight to Costa Rica, so I'll be there surfing, vlogging and just enjoying myself.
Where do you see yourself in four years?
Once I return from traveling, I hope to land a job in social media marketing where I can continue to use the skills that I learned at #UNHSocial. I may start out as a freelancer or perhaps work for a marketing agency in a city, but in four years I hope to have established myself in the industry and be working a job that allows me to be creative and make an impact. Or maybe I'll end up still traveling with a vlog channel. The opportunities are endless!
Thank you, Gabby, for your commitment to UNH Social and for your creativity and collaboration over the last few years! We can’t wait to see what’s next for you and hope you stay in touch.
