Krista Brown: Why Asking Questions Is Key To Your Internship Experience

This year, we are doing Nasdaq’s annual internship program a little differently. As we navigate the novel COVID-19 pandemic, we have turned circumstance into a learning opportunity for interns joining us this year to participate in meaningful and long-term projects. Through the Nasdaq Futures Internship Program, we offer a variety of professional experiences for emerging talent through an immersive 10 to 12-week virtual internship program.

From Stockholm to the U.S., meet few of the bright minds joining us digitally from all around the world. They are playing integral, hands-on roles to help Nasdaq #RewriteTomorrow.

Today, we speak with Krista Brown, a rising senior at New York University’s Stern School of Business. This summer, she is joining the social media team within the Marketing and Communications department.

Nasdaq: Tell us a little bit about your role at Nasdaq.

Krista Brown: I am a social media intern working in the marketing and communications department. Some of the tasks I've been working on include: creating copies and scheduling posts across all our social media platforms and working on our next series of #WednesdayWisdom quotes and captions. My summer project is centered around improving Nasdaq’s presence on Pinterest. I’ve gathered a lot of great research that I’m excited to share! 

Why were you eager to do an internship at Nasdaq?

Throughout my college career, I’ve done social media for clubs and small companies, but never for a company the size of Nasdaq. I was eager to see the inner workings of social media for a large company. I was also eager to see how Nasdaq specifically approached social media given that the company is better known for finance and tech rather than social. In the short time I’ve been here I’ve seen how complex social media is for Nasdaq and am excited to continue to learn more about social for the company.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned working here?

The most interesting thing I’ve learned working here and on the social media team is about branding. Nasdaq is such a large company — with many different departments, but I think we do a great job of ensuring that each department is on-brand with Nasdaq as a tech company. Nasdaq’s overarching theme of “Rewrite Tomorrow” promotes innovation, and directly aligns with the brand's classification as a tech company. While working on the social media team, I’ve gained a new understanding of Nasdaq through a branding lens and how branding the company in a certain way can set it apart from other companies in the industry. 

Tell us about the most exciting project you’ve worked on so far.

The most exciting project I’ve worked on so far is the Juneteenth project, where we gathered photos by Black artists that portrayed Black life in a positive manner. I was able to open the invitation to have their artwork displayed on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square. One friend, a native New Yorker, said this was a dream come true for him. Aside from getting my friends involved, I was proud to be a part of a bold, yet necessary statement made by a company as large as Nasdaq, especially given recent events and the current state of our country.

What do you hope to accomplish by the end of your time here?

The biggest thing is contributing work that will last beyond my internship whether it be through my summer-long project or another task I’m assigned. I think as an intern, it's easy to think that your contributions end when the internship ends, but I would love to work on something that the social media team (and ultimately Nasdaq) can continue to use months down the line. I also hope to create meaningful relationships with co-workers and other interns. Working in a remote environment has made it more difficult than usual to communicate and with people, but I’ve still been able to connect with some really great people.

Your advice for interns next year:

Ask questions and be curious. I think as interns it’s easy to be intimidated, I know I was when I first started, but at the end of the day the purpose of an internship is to learn and gain work experience — you have to take the initiative to create the best internship experience for yourself. Of course, the work assigned to you by your department will help you gain work experience, but setting up meetings, chatting with people — even other interns, and asking questions is truly how you can enhance your internship experience.

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