Diving Right In
By: Monserrat Diaz Martinez, Wharton ’22
A polaroid of Monserrat on the “Wall Of Members” at the coworking space where she is doing her internship this summer.
Your People Are Your Power – London, United Kingdom
The first week and a half of my Penn VIA experience have been amazing. This summer, I am interning at Your People Are Your Power, a London-based company that offers workplace wellbeing solutions to large organizations. I was lucky enough to be able to start when I did since we are about to launch a new service and I get to see what the process is like.
My marketing background has helped me so far in many projects. One of the first things I got to do was an audit of the company’s website. Being new to the company was actually an asset since I was approaching it as any user would, with little knowledge and with a fresh pair of eyes. Playing around on our website allowed me to familiarize myself with the company and prepare for the next major project: come up with a marketing plan for our newest service. We are finishing the development of a site that hosts our workplace wellbeing and mindfulness programs. I’ve gotten to flex my creative muscles with my coworker and design the main image on the page, come up with fun ways to promote the service and give feedback on the overall design of the platform.
Beyond the career experience that I have already amassed in such a short time, I am happy to be a part of a company where our founder wholeheartedly believes in what she is doing. This company was started after she experienced firsthand the effects of overworking oneself in high-stress corporate environments. Our goal is to help foster healthier working environments and improve the employee experience in order to better productivity and performance. I think with the pandemic this is especially prudent since work/life balance is hard to achieve in a remote format. The small size of the team is also helping me get to know people better and get quickly embedded in the company.
Another new thing that I have been doing during this placement is using a coworking space. Because of the remote nature of the opportunity, I was not going to be able to experience an office environment. However, since my home did not offer much space to work quietly, I decided to give myself the office experience by renting desk space. The picture that goes along with this post is my polaroid on the “Wall of Members” here in the space.
I am excited to spend the next couple of months putting my skills to the test with Your People Are Your Power and meeting new people here in the coworking space.
The Virtual Internships Abroad (VIA) program provides self-directed and motivated Penn undergraduate students the opportunity to gain a fully funded professional work experience over the summer with a global employer, with the added convenience of working remotely.