Meet the Team: Zack

In my pursuit of a summer internship, I came across TechBuffalo’s posting for a Communications and Events Intern. Throughout the interview process, I became more excited about this opportunity. I began to see that this position would be more than just a line on my resume- I saw it as a chance to capitalize on my previous experience of working with college students as a Teaching Assistant while also being able to gain relative experience to outfit my portfolio.  What I did not know was that I would have the support to grow my network and create meaningful connections with professionals in my desired industries. Having these professional development opportunities worked into my weekly schedule was something I have found to be very impactful for learning more about the work people are doing in the jobs I am interested in. In doing so, I am learning that no one truly knows what they want their career to look like, which is refreshing to hear as a confused college student.
Joining the TechBuffalo team as an intern has been an incredibly rewarding experience.

As I approach my third month with the team, I am reflecting on how much I’ve gained. I’ve had the opportunity to explore a range of interests, and I’m grateful for the support and encouragement from the team to do so. As a Business Administration student studying Marketing and Data Analytics, I am interested in both the creative and analytical sides of things. Learning more has been my goal throughout school, and I am happy to be carrying that into this internship as well. I don’t know what my future looks like, but I have found motivation knowing I am setting myself up for as many opportunities as I can. At TechBuffalo, I have been able to be a part of the various functions of an organization experiment within the areas of focus in my degree, and learn about potential new interests.

The first half of the summer has been dedicated to supporting our summer internship program, PowerUpTech, in all capacities. I used my skills in Canva to create graphics for our events pages and collaborated with our partners at Connolly Studios to ensure the work represented the TechBuffalo brand. I also gained a lot of administrative insight from creating event schedules and making master security lists to managing catering orders. One of my highlights was collaborating on a press release detailing the event and who it is tailored towards serving, in hopes of bringing in news coverage.

PowerUpTech Summer Internship Experience at Seneca One in Buffalo on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Photo by Mark Mulville)

One of the most exciting projects I handled was creating a high school version of our PowerUpTech program. Collaborating with UB’s Startup and Innovation Collaboratory, I led a half-day event for high school interns from M&T Tech and IBM. Watching the event unfold was a proud moment as I observed how every element contributed to the overall experience. I honed my skills in scheduling and running effective meetings with collaborators by creating agendas and run-of-shows. I also explored my analytical interests by creating a survey and assessing the results to determine the value that the students received from the event. I was thrilled to see that many of the students responded to the survey, resulting in an average score of 8.1/10 for overall perceived value.

Working closely with the team also allowed me to explore content creation and marketing analytics from a fresh perspective. My fascination with the influencer world of social media and the ways they captivate their audiences is what led me down my degree path and sparked my interest in marketing. My time at TechBuffalo has shown itself to be a perfect extension of that interest. Transitioning from focusing on my personal brand to representing TechBuffalo has given me a deeper understanding of branding and the strategic use of content. I have enjoyed creating flyers, event pages, pamphlets, and social media posts using Canva and have gotten to experiment with finding new ways to create fresh content while keeping our brand identity. Curating posts for Instagram has been a fun way to spotlight the students who have attended the events I have been behind.

Zack Pohle, PowerUpTech Communications & Event Intern

As the summer winds down, I am excited to become more involved in the organization’s marketing metrics and explore new ways to enhance our social media presence. I am hoping to get a better understanding of TechBuffalo’s base metrics for social media platforms and work at growing them as I continue my work with the team into the fall.

To fellow college students or anyone interested in internships, feel free to connect with me if you have any questions or just want to chat about the experience!