Bailey Williams stands in front of a piece of street art

Bailey Williams

Bailey Williams felt it her first class in Andersen Hall. She felt the energy – energy that comes when everyone is excited about what they’re doing, and that’s why she changed her major to the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

“There was just a different vibe,” Williams said. “I only had one class in Andersen Hall first semester freshman year, but it was different than all the rest. Everyone was really passionate about what they were doing, and I wanted to be a part of it.”

At the end of her sophomore year, she found herself in New York City working as the sole marketing intern for HGTV Magazine. While HGTV Magazine has six editorial interns each summer, there’s only one marketing intern chosen.

“It was great experience because I got the opportunity to work closely with the marketing team and the creative team on projects,” Williams said.

At HGTV Magazine, Williams wrote copy for Twitter and Instagram posts, helped write the summaries for media kits and was even given the chance to work on a big project on her own.

Hearst, HGTV Magazine’s owner, came to the marketing department with a project. They needed an eblast targeted at home appliance companies that could be potential advertisers in HGTV Magazine. Williams was taxed with coming up with ideas. They loved one of her ideas so much that they told her to run with it.

“I had no idea what I was doing, but I had to figure it out,” Williams said. “That’s where what I learned at the CoJMC helped. Even if I hadn’t learned how to do exactly what I needed to do, I knew what resources to use to make it happen. It ended up being a cool project.”

Williams got her experience in social media in an unconventional way. After her freshman year, she had just switched into the CoJMC, so she didn’t think she had the experience to get an internship. She took a job as a consultant at a bridal boutique near her hometown. While working there, she started running the social media for the boutique, even creating and maintaining a Pinterest account. She credits this experience with giving her the foundation she needed to land the HGTV Magazine internship.

At the CoJMC, Williams has taken classes in copy writing and graphic design. These classes gave her the skill-set she needed to be successful in her internships, she said.

“I really love that at the CoJMC, you’re given the basic guidelines – you know what the professor wants, what the end result should generally look like and they’re there for support – but they don’t hold your hand,” Williams said. “You’re given the space to think on your own and develop your own ideas. No one’s going to hold your hand during an internship. It’s good practice.”

Williams is still confident she made the right decision switching in to the CoJMC her freshman year.

“Everyone is pushing each other and supporting each other. It makes the CoJMC feel like a family.”