During the pandemic, I realized (as many college students do) that I wanted to change my major. Unexpectedly, I found myself interested in marketing during that period, so I did a complete 180 on my career plan. I was eager to learn about the realm of marketing and take on the world.

As I focused on my new major, I began looking for local jobs in Humboldt County that would give me an employment advantage once I graduated with my degree. Shortly after, I realized that most job opportunities required or “preferred” a number of years of experience. Translation: We don’t want to pay to train you. This information was incredibly discouraging and completely changed my incentive to stay here in Humboldt County to pursue my career.

This concern motivated me to gain real-world marketing experience before I graduated, so I decided to investigate the College of the Redwoods internship program. This program allows students to gain work experience in the student’s field of study, and that is where I heard about the paid position to work at Premier Financial Group as a philanthropy intern.

After successfully being hired for the position, I began learning so much! Within the last six months, I have gained knowledge regarding customer service, gained experience with new technology, participated in project-based learning, worked on extensive marketing projects, strengthened my professional networking skills, partnered with our chairman of the board, Wayne Caldwell on our philanthropy efforts, and so much more! The biggest takeaway from this internship has been the relationships that I have created with local people and businesses and being mentored by several team members in the process.

Learning about marketing and other vital concepts is one thing. However, working and living through new experiences makes a huge difference in preparing a person for future career opportunities. Premier is setting me up for success by testing my strengths and building new skills by pushing me to become the best version of myself and applying those skills where it matters. Besides working in a professional office setting, I’ve also attended a major fundraiser for Providence Hospital, rubbed elbows at the Eureka Chamber’s annual Member’s Meeting and Gala, hob-knobbed with the amazing members of Eureka Southwest Rotary, and now-a published author in a local newspaper! These are amazing opportunities that college, alone, cannot provide.

A big staple that Premier stands for is not just being able to have interns but being able to pay interns for their time. Paid internship opportunities are less common, and for a small community like Humboldt to have opportunities like that speaks volumes. Based on my experience thus far, I want to encourage other businesses to adopt College of the Redwoods and Premier’s ideologies surrounding internships. This will allow the next generation to be prepared and meet local employers’ experience requirements as well as provide local, talented graduates the opportunity to stay local after graduation.

I am grateful to have had an opportunity like this, and I encourage others to follow my path. I plan to graduate from Cal Poly Humboldt in the next couple of years and meet the requirements that businesses seek.

Britney Martinez is a philanthropy intern for Premier Financial Group. You can reach her at 707-443-2741 or email her at britney@premierfinancial.com.