Community Spotlight: Taking Initiative
June 21st, 2021
Who we’re featuring this week: Faye Wang
Position: Growth Marketing Intern at Aspire to Her
How has your role and experiences as an intern at Aspire to Her impacted your career?
I feel incredibly grateful that I have had the Aspire to Her community since the beginning of my college career, and for the opportunity to be an intern for the organization.
Ultimately, my role and experiences through Aspire to Her have taught me the importance of bi-directional mentorship. In other words, mentorship can and should be sought out at both levels - as the mentee and as the mentor. Like the saying goes, “it’s not necessarily about what you know, but who you know.” The programming we have put on has given me the opportunity to proactively and intentionally seek out these mentorship opportunities, which is a skill I believe is integral to pick up early in your career.
Thanks to this incredible community we are a part of, I feel very confident about the network and genuine relationships I’ve established in my early career. In the past year, I’ve reached out to the peers I’ve met through the Summer Innovator Program and mentors from our Her Hour series to seek their advice and support.
What has been your greatest learning and favorite part of being an intern at Aspire to Her?
My greatest learning as an intern is understanding the value and necessity of taking initiative, no matter what your title is. Fortunately, the Aspire to Her team has created a culture where I’ve always felt comfortable speaking up and initiating new projects to help further the organization. For example, one of my favorite initiatives that I’ve pioneered was creating a college-tailored newsletter and virtual event that we offered to university students whose professional development opportunities were affected by COVID-19. This experience, alongside other initiatives I’ve been able to execute, has been a rewarding experience because it allows me to give back to the Aspire to Her community and build the courage to take initiative. I have found that this trait has carried over into other areas of my career and life as well.
My favorite part about being an intern is undoubtedly the people I have met throughout my time at Aspire to Her. I have developed a countless amount of invaluable relationships that I not only consider as professional connections, but true friendships for life. For example, I joined a book club created by one of our community members and have been able to bond over this shared interest with her outside the context of career development. These relationships have not only furthered my career, but growth as an individual — and for that, I’m so grateful to this community we’ve built together!
