Internship with Candice Craig: 2021
My sophomore year of college, I expressed my interest in dance as it relates to entrepreneurship and social media communication to USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance professor Saleemah E. Knight. She connected me to Candice Craig, a professional dancer and influencer. I was offered an internship working for her athletic-leisure company VVIVIIVIII (5,6,7,8), which supplies dancers clothing and accessories they can where in and outside of rehearsal.
My responsibilities included managing all company social media accounts for a collective 3 million followers. I also produced original and consistent social media content for campaigns that reflected the brand’s message and audience. Finally, I was responsible for identifying content opportunities and analyzed posts that received high engagement for the company. The VVIVIIVIII platforms saw a 40% increase in followers during my employment.
Many of the customers are followers of Candice and are inspired by her lifestyle. It did not take me long to learn that photos and stories of her speaking directly to customers yield the most engagement. I took advantage of the connection Candice and her followers have as often as possible. We began sending personal direct messages to supporters and reposted everyone who tagged themselves wearing VVIVIIVIII.
I am grateful to have had near complete autonomy and creative control over the stories I developed, captions I created, and content I posted. Candice gave me the opportunity to start finding myself as an artist. What was most valuable to me was the chance to exercise my passion for Communication and Design in a real way for the first time while staying connected to my passion for dance. I want to thank Candice and Professor Knight for trusting me with this internship and allowing me to learn from and grow with you both. I am beyond grateful.
KAYLA GOLDSBERRY 