Tower Profiles: Henrietta Nwako

By Cody Louie | Published Sept. 27, 2017

Henrietta Nwako is a graduate student at Kean pursuing an M.A. in communication studies and leadership. She is an alumni with a B.A. in public relations (PR) returning to her alma mater to master communication to become successful in today’s ever-expanding digital age.

One of the first things that drew her to communication was the requirement for many job descriptions: good verbal and communication skills.

“This heightened my desire to sharpen my speaking and writing abilities because I knew that mastering these skills was one way to be successful,” Nwako said.

In an era which we are so interconnected to each other, she believes that she has an advantage over the competition. Her experience and skills within the scope of communication allow her to effectively communicate both digitally and in person.

She has helped several different organizations as an intern. During her employment, one thing has always been the heart of a successful experience. Strong communication.

Nwako talked about her time with two organizations in specific. First was Dun and Bradstreet (D&B), located in Short Hills, New Jersey which handles marketing insight solutions. Th e second was at the New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC), a nonprofit organization that connects people together.

Both internships were in the realm of communication with D&B having a marketing oriented background.

“I was so nervous because it was my first experience in the corporate setting and my public speaking skills were not as strong as they were today, so that was huge,” Nwako said. “They told us that we’d have to present our final project to the board of directors and team leaders.”

At D&B she was responsible for the development and implementation of marketing and PR tactics. The aim of these are to gain market share, brand recognition and awareness.

Since it was only her first year of college, Nwako felt as if she didn’t have the skill set to take on all of the new responsibilities. From day-to-day operations, customer interaction, and analytics she was able to learn by working closely with the sales and marketing solutions teams.

“After I assimilated into the culture I felt a part of the team,” said Nwako. “I learned a lot in terms of corporate communication and how to think strategically and execute marketing and business initiative to support organizational objectives.”

Nwako’s sentiments going into NJTC were a complete turnaround from her initial feelings of D&B. This time around she was excited to be responsible, no doubt due to her maturation as a scholar and an individual.

“There were so many networking opportunities,” Nwako said. “I was able to gain so many contacts from just working these events.”

She spoke about the eclectic range of fields that these individuals came from. She got to meet CEOs of different companies and people from various startups from all different professions.

Nwako called it an “entrepreneurial experience at its finest.”

At NJTC she learned how to work an event from the ground up. Everything that goes into the event such as planning the venue, caterers, vendors, lighting, where things go, workers, you name and it she learned it.

But, the learning did not start at the internship itself for Nwako. She volunteered at one of their events before applying to get a feel for the way things ran and to see if it was something she truly wanted to do.

“Internships are temporary, even if you hate it, stick it out. Something positive is bound to come from the experience,” Nwako said. “Go after something that’s exciting that you also know will challenge you. Often times I feel like we take the easy way out and become afraid of challenge so we dismiss certain opportunities without ever giving it a chance.”

Nwako’s internship profile is a part of a new series at The Tower which highlights current and former interns at Kean! If you’d like to or know anyone who would like to participate please email Cody Louie at louiec@kean.edu

 

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