Emma Williamson. She’s the kind of person you want as a friend– smart, witty and as sharp in person as she is in cyberspace. She’s also “queen of the internet”, which makes her a perfect fit for our communications internship. The fact that she wanted to interview herself and author this blog (the idea was vetoed) is just one example of her deep love of Invisible Children’s social media and writing (as well as the fact that she’s…let’s say ‘quirky’). I’m fortunate enough to work next to her all day everyday, but it was good to have an excuse to talk to her about life as a communications intern at Invisible Children.

Emma 'queen of the internet' Williamson.

Emma ‘queen of the internet’ Williamson.

Hey Emma! Walk me through a typical day as Communications intern.

I come to work in the morning and typically the first thing I do is check my emails, then check all of our bigger social media channels– so Facebook, Twitter and Instagram– to see if anyone has said anything that needs me to respond. Then, I ideally spend some of the morning planning and scheduling social media and blogs with you [that’s me the other communications intern– hi] and with Angelo and Hailey who run the blog and our social media accounts. We strategize the content we’ll have for that day or that week. Then, I spend the rest of my day gathering and creating content for social media and the blog as well as dabbling in Photoshop.

Why did you want to intern at Invisible Children?

I thought it would be a really awesome place for my skills to develop professionally. Invisible Children has always been my jam and something that I’ve been really passionate about, and it’s been a cause that’s really resonated with me for a long time, so I initially just wanted to allocate some time to give to that, while still growing as a person.

What sets your internship role apart from others, and what impact are you able to make in your specific role?

It’s a very small team I work with and we interact with the internet. Another thing that’s different is that I’m literally “Invisible Children” to a lot of people who only interact with us on the internet, so I have a pretty big megaphone to talk to the world. In a lot of ways our team has to lead everyone else [at Invisible Children] in what we say, what we present, and the ideas we’re coming up with– that’s pretty cool.

And how does my role make impact? I think it sounds pretty shiny to say that I get to help end a war in 140 characters, but it’s true that the way I get to make an impact at Invisible Children is by engaging people in their own sphere and meeting people where they’re at, which is the internet! I just think it’s a really awesome place to be able to come up with new ideas and new content.

Emma outside our down-town San Diego office

Emma outside our downtown San Diego office

What skills do you think you’re developing in your role?

Photoshop (laughs). I’m developing a lot of technical skills, like technical writing, Photoshop and InDesign. At the same time, I’m developing a better sense of collaboration and working in a team. I’m developing more of a self-starter skill that I didn’t possess before necessarily, because our role is super self-starter. If no one tells you to do something, then you don’t have to do it, and so you have to tell yourself to work everyday, and to work hard.

What’s it like living and working with the other interns?

It’s honestly the best thing ever! I don’t know why people don’t just live together all the time! It sounds like what it is– living with anywhere from 10 to 40 of your best friends. It’s also super challenging at times, as someone who is naturally an introvert and needs time to be alone, being in a house of 40 people can be challenging. But at the end of the day, the collaboration that people have in this office because of experiences they’ve had outside of the office together is what really sets us apart. I’m able to work better with the people I work with because I live with them, and that’s super unique. I’m able to see people out of the workplace and resolve any kind of conflict. It pushes everyone in their creativity in their work.

What’s been your favorite memory so far?

We had a Thanksgiving dinner in our downstairs with 50 people, and it was the most insane and loving and eclectic thanksgiving I’ve ever had. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and I’ve always had a really awesome time, so to not even miss a beat felt awesome, and to have that crazy experience…I’ll never forget the Thanksgiving I spent with 50 of my best friends in southern California, with a ton of 20 year olds who don’t really know how to cook or have never really had to make their own Thanksgiving.

What’s the best thing about interning at Invisible Children?

There’s something about doing what you do best and having it go towards something that matters. What I do best is create things and write. To think that I can continue doing that and it goes towards something that matters is super fulfilling. Here, people get to use the things they’re good at to make the world a better place.

What would your perfect Saturday in San Diego consist of?

Well, I would wake up and it would be 8am, and other people would be waking up (even though that’s not true, no one wakes up nearly as early as I do), and we would load up, go to a brunch place, then we’d go to the farmers market, then we’d go to the beach, lay out all day, kinda get that sun sleepiness, all go in the garage together to watch a movie, and fall asleep– my birthday’s coming up, I’m planning it! Oh no, wait, we’d have a little bit of energy at the end of the day, toss around a Frisbee…I wouldn’t do as well as everyone else, but I’d like being there. So, big points: brunch, farmers market, beach, summer time sleepiness, Frisbee. Slight sunburn is honestly ideal– coming out with a slight sunburn is honestly a part of my idea day.

“There’s something about doing what you do best and having it go towards something that matters.”

In one sentence: what it’s like to work for Invisible Children?

In the best way possible, it’s non-stop.

I’m going to ask you some quick fire questions unrelated to your Internship, because I can. So:

Favorite movie: Lars and the Real Girl

First childhood memory: That’s so hard! One of the first is staying late at my mi-mi’s house while my dad was at work, watching the Brady Bunch and eating popcorn, and hanging out. I was probably 4 or 5.

Favorite type of weather: 65 degrees the morning, 75 degrees in the day, and at the end of the day it starts raining.

Last supper: Super cheesy pizza and Pad Thai.

What you’re going to do when Kony’s caught: Freaking hit the ground, be so excited, fly back to San Diego (if I’m not already there).

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is Emma Williamson.

WE’RE LOOKING FOR PASSIONATE INDIVIDUALS LIKE Emma TO JOIN OUR SUMMER 2014 Communications team. IF YOU’D LIKE TO LEARN MORE about how you could be a Communications intern at invisible children, VIEW OUR INTERNSHIP OPENINGS AND FILL OUT AN APPLICATION.