SFCC Snapshot: Arin McKenna

“I wanted to get the skills to move into marketing from journalism. I realized my favorite writing was telling people’s stories. Writing for the Santa Fe New Mexican’s special editions and to some extent at the Los Alamos Monitor gives me those opportunities. But marketing really is telling the story of a business or organization. I decided that marketing would be more satisfying for me, especially if I focused on my goal of marketing for organizations I could believe in. 
 
I had participated in SFCC’s PROTEC (Professional Readiness & Technical Experience for Careers) three years ago because it included a paid internship, and I was able to do a social media internship for the Santa Fe Botanical Garden. With social media being such a big marketing tool, I decided to pursue SFCC’s Social Media Specialist Certificate. It took me two years to complete, trying to squeeze classes in around my work schedule, but it was worth it. I only knew the basics of social media when I started, and this program focused on all aspects of social media marketing. You really learn to work with the different social media platforms as well as photography, Photoshop and several other tools. Through PILAS, SFCC’s paid internship program, I was placed in a social media marketing internship with Davis Innovations. The owner was so impressed with my writing skills she hired me as a grant writing contract worker at the same time. The internship led to permanent work. I was able to take all that I had learned over the course of two years at SFCC and apply them to my marketing career.” 
~ Arin McKenna, Social Media Specialist Certificate, Marketing Consultant

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