Most college students create an online presence, but Tatiana Mancera of Miami, Florida, shows next-level social media savvy as a Kirby Scholar and intern for the Wilkes women’s soccer team.
Kirby Scholars are members of a highly selective internship program based in the Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. Scholars advise and assist clients starting new businesses, and they work under the supervision of professional mentors.
As a communications intern and marketing scholar, Mancera managed social media for All Belgium. Wilkes students Toon De Schepper and Billy Berry launch the food truck business that sells authentic Belgian waffles. Mancera researched social media accounts of successful food trucks and created a recipe that has yielded 400 Facebook and 747 Instagram followers so far.
The senior adapted strategies for clients like Gunshot Survivors Advocacy and Around Town Bikes. For instance, she found that current events posts and polls attract the most engagement for the advocacy group, while photos of people enjoying products works best for businesses focused on sales.
“I learned a lot about what types of posts get more views,” says Mancera. “I learned the importance of following people who are going to uplift your account, not people who could ruin the reputation of your business.”
Since she’s far from her Miami home, when Mancera needs a lift she turns to her roommates, her soccer teammates or Coach John McNichol. As head coach, McNichol believes in holistic support of his student-athletes. “The biggest thing for me is showing we care by being honest, trusting and ethical,” he says. “We give them the resources to be successful on and off the field.”
In her final semester, Mancera scored additional internship experience, combining her athletic and social media talents as an intern for women’s soccer. She hopes to land a role in college athletics marketing or coaching, putting her communication studies major and minors in sports management and sport psychology into play.
“I took a chance on leaving where I was born and raised,” she says. “I learned to take chances and never say no to new opportunities.”
Find out more:
Follow @allbelgium on Instagram
The Allan P. Kirby Center for Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
The Center for Career Development and Internships
Wilkes athletics programs
