By Lauren Leano
With a passion for creativity and a curiosity about what drives consumer behavior, Kenny Torres is turning his interests into real-world experience. A marketing major with a minor in business innovation and entrepreneurship, Torres is also earning certificates in professional sales and digital marketing.
As a career peer coach with NIU Career Services, he gained hands-on experience managing the office’s LinkedIn presence, creating content and promoting career resources. One of his proudest accomplishments was helping grow the account from 388 to 506 followers in just one month. Through this experience, Torres strengthened his marketing skills and discovered that successful marketing goes beyond just creativity.
Q: Tell us a little about yourself, your major and what initially sparked your interest in your field or career path?
A: I am currently majoring in marketing with a minor in business innovation and entrepreneurship. I am also earning my certificates under both the professional sales and digital marketing program. The concept of marketing intrigued me growing up, especially through visual tactics such as toy and product infomercials, movie posters and logos. I’ve always had a curiosity in how people’s behaviors could change based on the way it is presented and sold to them. This is a career path with a wide variety of opportunities and experiences that allows me to express my creative side while filling in those curious thoughts.
Q: What internship did you complete and what initially attracted you to this opportunity or organization?
A: I was able to continue my internship with NIU Career Services over the summer and came back as a career peer coach. During the academic school year, I help students with their career development, usually including résumé-building, job and internship searches, and interview preparation. However, since most students are back at home during the summer, my main responsibility this time was helping manage the organization’s LinkedIn account. I was excited to return, as this gave me a true opportunity of understanding how managing a professional account with regulations and branding standards work.
Q: How did you find and secure your internship? What resources, experiences networking or advice helped you through the process?
A: I secured my connection with Career Services through the help of the Dream Action office. Building a connection with the previous director, Sandy Lopez, helped me network further and referred me to intern over summer 2025. I continued over the entire academic year of 2025-2026 and was fortunate to be asked to return and help with their marketing this past summer. I have been able to continue my relationship with Career Services by building meaningful connections.
Q: What did a typical day or week look like during your internship and what were some of your main responsibilities?
A: A typical day began with checking any new notifications on LinkedIn and keeping track of them. Afterward, I would begin working on any current projects. For the most part, it included me designing new templates and preparing a post with upcoming career events. I also completed online career development workshops through NIU Career Launchpad and provided feedback from a student perspective, ensuring the instructions were easy to follow. On some occasional weeks, I would attend freshman and transfer student orientations, which involved me promoting our office and the services and resources we offer.
Q: What was a project, accomplishment or experience during your internship that you are especially proud of? Why was it meaningful to you?
Nearing the end of my summer internship, I reviewed July’s analytics and noted that our page had grown from 388 followers to 506 in just 30 days. This was 140% higher than the previous month and brought me confidence that my research and efforts helped leverage the account further. Getting the opportunity to grow this page brought me satisfaction that it was getting more student recognition. Currently, the account now has 818 followers and is growing at a rapid pace, I am excited that students are now getting the opportunity to fully utilize the many resources offered at NIU. This office offers resources that provide helpful skills that are transferable throughout your entire career journey.
Q: What was one challenge you faced during your internship and how did you overcome it? What did that experience teach you?
I have been the marketing board chair for a couple organizations here on campus and managed their Instagram accounts, but helping manage an account that directly represents NIU and the Career Services office had a higher sense of pressure. I also had to fully adapt to using Adobe Express, as they are a partner here at NIU, and it was encouraged for our posts to be created using this platform. I had used Adobe in the past but was not yet comfortable enough, so I watched tutorials and workshops offered directly through Adobe, along with attending live online webinars. By breaking out of my comfort zone, I proved to myself that through resilience I could self-teach myself fundamental skills.
Q: What did you learn during your internship that you could not have learned in a classroom alone?
A: I have studied different marketing principles and tactics through the College of Business, but going from textbook to actual application was something a classroom could not replicate. I had to understand that it takes much more behind the scenes to reach my goal. Often, research, demos and training are necessary before anything else can even get started.
Q: How did your College of Business courses, professors or experiences at NIU help prepare you for your internship?
A: I was able to put my business courses to the test and go from learning to fully managing an account with a reputable name behind it. Through previous lessons and advice from my professors, I was able to gather an understanding of how to begin organizing a plan of action and knowing how to approach the project. It also greatly helped that I have managed school clubs or organizations on campus since fall 2024, although most of my experience has been through Instagram. I understood what it took to succeed and how to get there.
Q: How did this internship impact your career goals or change your perspective on the type of career you want to pursue?
A: In the past, I had a vision of what my dream job position would be like, which usually only focused on the design and creative part of marketing. And now that I have completed a hands-on experience, it has brought me an insider’s perspective in understanding that the background work needs to come first before I can get to the visual side of marketing. This has made me recognize my level of expertise in some skills and begin to prioritize them based on need for development. Acknowledging what my weaknesses are is crucial for me to grow professionally.
Q: What is your biggest piece of advice for other College of Business students who are preparing to search for or apply for an internship?
A: Visit the Career Services office where they can help you search for internships and jobs on Huskies Get Hired. One of the many services offered at drop-in services includes curated résumé-building for job listings, along with interview preparation and career development workshops. Follow Career Services on LinkedIn and find the many resources they offer.
