English Major Makes the Most of a Networking Opportunity

Brianna Metsger ’19 took the lessons on social media she learned in class and put them to practical use during a summer internship as the social media manager with the American Foundation for Children with AIDS (AFCA).

AFCA, which is based in Harrisburg, Pa., is a non-profit organization that provides critical comprehensive services to infected and affected HIV+ children and their caregivers in Africa. These services include medical treatments, nutritional and educational support, and sustainable agriculture training.

Through her summer internship, Metsger marketed AFCA through social media, including what the organization offers to the African community, volunteer opportunities, facts about HIV/AIDS, and facts about the worldwide epidemic of poverty. 

“Doing something so meaningful really gave me a purpose and motivated me,” said Metsger, who is a Creative Writing and English double major.

Metsger first learned of AFCA more than a year earlier when LVC partnered with area nonprofit organizations to boost their social media and market their various events. One of those partners was AFCA, which hosted a Pass My Plate educational challenge on campus to promote awareness of extreme poverty and the hunger epidemic affecting millions around the world. Metsger’s class was tasked with creating a social media plan to promote the event to the LVC community.

Through Pass My Plate, students used a meal swipe to eat a plate of rice and beans that cost $1.90, which is the number defined by the World Bank to show how someone living in poverty eats less than $1.90 worth of food each day. At the end of the challenge, students donated the amount of money they budget for food in a week to the AFCA, who used the proceeds to provide families in Africa with sustainable food sources. 

During the class project, Metsger met AFCA executive director Tanya Weaver—a connection she revisited when searching for a summer internship. 

Metsger plans to use what she learned from her internship and apply it to a future career in communications, possibly for a non-profit organization such as AFCA.

“I would love to work for a non-profit,” said Metsger, who also worked for the Humane Society full-time during the summer. “The people just seem to be there for a different reason. They don’t seem to be there only for money. They really do care about what they are doing, and that’s something really important for me because I like to be true to who I am.” 

 

- Jolie Winemiller ’18, Marketing & Communications Student Assistant