Jourdan Wright (‘27), a Communication major, was a digital content intern for BlackStar Projects, a non-profit film organization that uplifts Black, Brown, and Indigenous filmmakers and artists. This internship was supported by the Summer Humanities Internship Program.
As I was looking through the SHIP opportunities, BlackStar stood out to me because of their commitment to care, liberation, and intersectionality. These values, along with their mission, deeply resonated with my current work and future aspirations. At Penn, I’m the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Faces of Black Penn, Penn’s only Black student-run publication, dedicated to highlighting the diverse experiences of the students in Penn’s Black community. It was important for me to be part of an organization that understood my passion for storytelling and consciously implemented it into their work.
While in the office, I was part of both the communication and marketing teams. This was one of the busiest times for BlackStar as they were gearing up for their 14th annual BlackStar Film Festival, so most of my tasks revolved around preparing for this event. Some of my responsibilities included partnership outreach, brainstorming and creating scripts of short-form content (TikTok/Instagram Reels) for the festival, proofreading graphics, writing alt text for film stills, and organizing archives. Moving into the festival, I operated the camera for the Daily Jawn Stage, where I would record the panels and discussions. Because I was involved in many different projects, my daily schedule was varied, and I gained valuable exposure to multiple aspects of the organization.
My career goal is to go into marketing, and this experience gave me invaluable insight into how the process works at a non-profit organization. Being able to sit in meetings and contribute my own ideas helped me put what I’ve learned into practice. It was satisfying to see the work we did come to life on social media. However, I also came to learn that I enjoy partnership outreach and co-promotion. One of my favorite tasks was uploading new films to The Movie Database. From there, I was able to see these films on Letterboxd and create a list of premieres. Through a partnership, Letterboxd posted the list I helped create on their Instagram. It was so exciting to see something I contributed to reaching such a wide audience.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my time with BlackStar was the sense of community and belonging I found through my internship. One-on-one meetings with different staff members allowed me to learn about their roles at BlackStar and gave me the opportunity to ask them questions. Through these interactions, I cultivated connections with the people I would be working with while getting advice on professional development. From the day I stepped into the office, you could see the values of BlackStar embodied in how they supported and communicated with each other.
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