As the semester comes to an end, our interns are taking time to reflect on their work with the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace. The first post comes from our Social Media and Marketing Intern, Meredith Friedland.
My semester as the social media marketing intern at the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace has been eye-opening for me. Before this position, I hadn’t found a way to combine my interest in marketing with my passion for making the world a better place. My job representing the Bahá’í Chair’s voice online allowed me to feel I was making a real impact in and out of the Maryland community.
Writing blog posts reflecting on our speakers and events allowed me to interact with the material in the lectures and really furthered my interest in the feminist movement as well as racial inequality. This position made much more of an impact on me than I could have anticipated. The intelligent individuals who spoke at our symposiums provided tangible evidence to support the problems they were addressing and gave real solutions.
With the increase of falsified information when it comes to news and the always present bias I felt I didn’t have a source to truly learn about our world problems. Each presenter introduced questions that I hadn’t paid attention to before. They further my awareness of the inequalities in our world and how they tie to our everyday relationship to our environment and even our workforce. I further realized that even feminist movements need to work on the inclusivity of all types of women beyond straight white women. I also realized how art can be used to tear down structural racism. I became more passionate about furthering my education on these topics and much more willing to step out of the bubble I grew up in.
My time at the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace has been an empowering and educational one that also resulted in self-analysis and self-discovery. I am grateful for the opportunity to interact and learn from such smart and kind-hearted individuals as Dr. Mahmoudi and Dr. Seaman who made me feel welcome and encouraged my creativity and ideas. Working alongside a team of strong women who focus on lifting each other up and pushing one another to be better not only within the position but within our world, has been refreshing and motivating. I am thankful for them both providing me with the environment to learn and grow, which I have already in such a short time.
Through my position, I further learned how powerful a platform social media can be to promote a message. The work of the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace is one I value and I look forward to continue promoting them next semester. I have learned to appreciate social media for so much more than just a way to talk with friends. It’s a tool I have learned to use to connect those willing to learn, to promote educational resources, to break down walls that have been up for generations.
This role has allowed me to learn the capabilities of marketing that you don’t focus on in the classroom. It is possible to combine business marketing with social justice and I look forward to continuing to pursue both. If my work with the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace can encourage one person to attend an event or spark questions in someone’s mind from one of my blog posts I will feel like I have accomplished what I hope to do.
About the Author:
Meredith Friedland is a junior at the University of Maryland majoring in Marketing and minoring in Technology Entrepreneurship. Meredith is the Social Media and Marketing Intern at the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace. After college, she hopes to travel the world and learn more about different countries and cultures. Meredith wants to combine her interest in business with her passion for helping others.