Kailey Murphy
Senior
Strategic Communication major, Creative Writing minor
South Bend, Indiana

Where are you interning and what are your day-to-day responsibilities?
I am a Corporate Communications and Marketing intern at Republic Airways. My position is not a typical 9-5. I spend two days of my week at our headquarters on Purdue Road in Indianapolis and another two days at the LIFT Academy, which is located at Indianapolis International Airport. On any given day, you can find me developing ideas and creating content for our social media channels, creating the content for various marketing materials, writing and distributing our weekly RJet Digest to our 6,000 Associates, writing blog posts, and assisting in video and photo shoots at all of our locations. This internship is very hands-on which is what my Butler education has been as well. 

How does this experience relate to your major? 
This role exemplifies everything I’ve learned as a Strategic Communication major. We learn so much about branding, knowing your audience, using the ROPE process (Research, Objectives, Programming, Evaluation) to create campaigns, and handling external-facing content that I felt extremely prepared going into this internship.

What do you like most about your internship?
I love that every day is different. While all of the goals I’m working towards are similar, I have so many responsibilities in a singular day that it’s impossible to get bored. I am constantly learning and growing, especially in this fast-paced industry where there’s constantly something new. Because of how unique the aviation industry is, I was pleasantly surprised at how this internship wasn’t another job to check a box, but rather has been a place to grow and learn.

What project are you particularly proud of?
Dr. Hochman is the most caring, selfless, knowledgeable, inspiring, and wisest person I had the opportunity to learn from. He taught me how to deeply care for my students, while still caring for myself. Whenever I need advice, Dr. Hochman is the first person I go to because he always knows the right thing to say. I would not be the educator or person I am today without having learned from him. I am eternally grateful to Butler’s COE for providing me with that opportunity.

What advice do you have for students who are interested in pursuing a career in this field?
I had a large role in the social media content plan. Brainstorming, drafting, editing, creating, and posting content across several platforms for two different, interrelated brands is a difficult task. I am grateful that I was entrusted with executing social concepts based off of my own observations and perspective of the brand. While I am still learning the best way to reach our audience, it has been a wonderful experience to create content that is viewed as a valuable contribution to the overall brand strategy.