For Anabelle Freeman, it all started with running social media for local companies in high school. This experience, coupled with her passion for reaching young people with the Gospel, led her to enroll at Grace with a digital communication major and youth ministry minor.
The summer before college, while scrolling through Grace’s social media, Freeman was impressed by the marketing department’s creativity. So she emailed Grace’s social media specialist and asked if the office had any open spots.
Her initiative was rewarded with a videography and social media internship offer her freshman year.
“It worked out perfectly,” said Freeman.
Freeman arrived at Grace that fall and began her classes. In addition to the small class sizes, which meant she received individual guidance from professors, Freeman loved how hands-on her courses were.
“When you think of college classes, you think of taking notes, studying, tests, and projects,” said Freeman. “While we did do a lot of projects, we also practiced interacting with actual people and understanding which communication methods and strategies worked best for us.”
Her courses intersected perfectly with her internship. She’d learn the textbook definition of a concept in the classroom, then experience it first-hand in the marketing office, whether through splicing together a promotional video or writing a social media caption.
One highlight of Freeman’s internship came during Grace’s Homecoming weekend. She had expected to stand by and assist with filming. What she hadn’t anticipated was Grace’s videographer handing her a camera and sending her out to capture an event.
“It was just proof that the team trusted me and didn’t just want to be looking over my shoulder,” said Freeman. “They wanted me to learn by doing.”
