Hey there! My name is Marissa Porter. I am from Dallas, Texas, and a senior in my last semester at the U of A. I am majoring in English and Journalism and minoring in Event Management. 

In July of 2020, I became the Marketing Intern at the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. I found out about the opportunity from a previous professor, Gina Shelton, who was approached by my (soon-to-be) boss, Julie Damer. She was looking for students to interview for the position and Professor Shelton recommended me. I had my interview in July, and the rest is history! I think a really great way to find out about opportunities for internships is to let your professors know you want experience. You never know where your big connection or breakthrough will come from. 

I love working at the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. It is a non-profit organization that does so much for their community. The goal of the NWA Food Bank is to distribute healthy food as quickly as possible to those who are food insecure in the community. I have always loved volunteering and helping others and being able to combine that passion with something I am good at, writing, is a dream come true for me. Although this internship is remote, I go into the office on multiple occasions for one reason or another.  

My position as the Marketing Intern has a few different responsibilities, but primarily my job is to write stories about the Food Bank’s over 160 partner agencies and their clients. The “partner agencies” are all of the food pantries we distribute to, and the “clients” are the people who go to those pantries to receive food. My stories get published on the NWA Food Bank’s blog and occasionally in the newsletter itself, which is great for my resume and portfolio! I even got published in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette after a collaboration between them and the Food Bank. 

Before my internship, I knew I was interested in working in Journalism, but I was not sure how I wanted to get involved yet. Working in a newsroom would be the dream, but I know it is a very fast-paced environment and I always like to take plenty of time to review my work before submitting it. I really like the experience of writing various stories for one specific organization. It allows me to have a relatively set and structured job, but also allows me to do and learn something different every day. This is the perfect combination of freedom, creativity, and structure for me. It allows me to get more experience interviewing for, writing, and editing stories for publishing, which is what I am doing in most of my Journalism classes. 

My internship was only supposed to last one semester, but in December the Food Bank asked that I stay on with them until I graduate in May, and potentially into the summer. I am very excited to continue my internship and learn even more about the non-profit industry while furthering my experience and practice in journalism.