3 Things I Learned as a Social Media Intern at Million Dollar Women (and my first real job!)
Guest Blogger Kate Bown, rising junior at Occidental College
It all started with a baseball cap.
As I prepared to leave the train at Grand Central Station in Manhattan, I found myself in conversation with my soon-to-be boss and mentor, Julia Pimsleur. My friend Becky, a Scripps College alum, noticed Julia’s “Pomona College Mom” cap, sparking a chat about Julia’s son who is a sophomore at Pomona. As a student at Occidental College (also California based), I joined in, not realizing this conversation would lead to my first real job!
Before parting ways, Julia handed us each a business card. I was intrigued—the MDW logo featured my favorite shade of dark pink, and I adore anything not digital. I have been super into collaging lately; whenever I can get my hands on actual paper these days, I light up. It sort of felt like a sign I should follow up!
Later that day, I visited the Million Dollar Women website and was immediately drawn in. The site showed women from all different walks of life attending events, laughing and learning together, making me more curious about this world of women run businesses.
I quickly emailed Julia to ask how I could get involved. Timing was on my side; I was stressed about not having a summer job, and she was looking for a social media intern. A few phone calls later, I had a job and showed up for my first day at her apartment in Manhattan.
My first day happened to be a big one—there was a panel event where Julia was speaking. I offered to photograph it, feeling a bit anxious but excited. The event was at the upscale Hard Rock Hotel, filled with business owners. Julia arrived, briefed me on what to film, and I got to work, trying to get original angles and capture the impressive setting and attendees. The next day, I created my first reel for MDW, and was super proud when they said was one of their best ones! You can see it here on Instagram.
As the internship ends, I’m filled with gratitude. And I have a way better understanding of what it takes to run a company. I learned so many invualuable lessons I’ll carry into my future work and personal life. On my last day, we laughed over memories at a local diner, and I was invited to come back and work during breaks from school.
Onto the three top things I learned:
Embrace Serendipity → Unexpected encounters can lead to big opportunities. Be open to connecting with new people.
Step Outside Your Comfort Zone → Taking on new challenges fosters personal and professional growth.
Don’t forget the “Social” in “Social Media” → Collaboration is key to crafting and sharing stories and reels.
MDW is an intimate team of women who modeled what it looks like to build a business around their passions about equality, equity, and empowerment for women entrepreneurs.
Julia and the MDW team create a safe space in which “work culture” means prioritizing health, celebrating little joys, considering all voices, and learning both from and with each other. It means all getting sparkly Eiffel Tower keychain souvenirs from Julia when she got back from her trip. It means going out for lunch as a team to celebrate the previous social media person who was moving onto her new chapter. It also means having a laugh together after I showed up late one day when I ended up in Queens by mistake, because being a New Yorker does not mean navigating the subway effortlessly! lol.
My mom always told me: “life begins outside your comfort zone.” While I agree, I’ve realized there’s nuance—like an elastic band, we need to stretch without snapping. Without Julia “stretching” me to network at the event, I wouldn’t have made new connections there.
Ultimately, I’ve come to appreciate the power of social media. Though I’m part of Gen Z, I wasn’t always up to date with it. I feel I learned to work with and not against the beast that is social media. This job showed me how social media can be a powerful tool. Plus, I’m now quite obsessed with digital collaging!
If you’re trying to get your first job, remember my mother’s advice: step outside your comfort zone! And from me: do talk to people on trains, take a lot of action (Julia said she hired me in part because I wrote her within 24 hours of meeting her and she likes “people who take fast action.”). It might lead to finding a mentor, learning new skills, and having twice as many people in your corner as you had before!