My first week of my fellowship was wonderful! I started the week with orientation at The Columbus Foundation, where I had the opportunity to meet my fellow cohort members and learn about the work they will be doing this summer. Connecting with other young professionals in Columbus was encouraging, and it was inspiring to hear how they are navigating their early career journeys.

Shortly afterward, I participated in my first onboarding session with SEA Change, my host organization. During training, I met with my supervisors, who provided me with the knowledge and resources needed to be successful in my fellowship. I also had the opportunity to have lunch with my team and learn more about their roles within the organization and how each person contributes to SEA Change’s success.
Throughout the week, I was introduced to several new platforms, including Monday.com, Givebutter, Thinkific, and others that I will be using during my fellowship. I have already begun working in Monday.com to review SEA Change’s onboarding process for new employees, identify redundancies, and explore ways to make the transition process more efficient for both the organization and its new hires. I have also started reviewing program curriculum materials to identify opportunities to improve content and information delivery.

Within my first week, I have already gained exposure to both operations and marketing analytics. I attended a marketing work session where I learned new terminology and concepts that helped me better understand the analytical side of marketing. For example, I learned about a metric called cost per click, which measures the average amount SEA Change pays each time someone clicks on one of its advertisements. This is just one example of the many new concepts I have been introduced to.
Reviewing onboarding processes and identifying inefficiencies has given me valuable insight into the field of operations, an area I am particularly passionate about. I am excited to continue learning about both marketing and operations while strengthening my technical and professional skills throughout the fellowship.