Internships are one of the most important tools for young people preparing to transition from academia to a full-time career. COTA has a long history of welcoming students from all different backgrounds with widely varied interests over the summer months, giving them the opportunity to work on actual projects right alongside their mentors.
These hands-on experiences help them learn new skills, forge important connections, and build confidence as they explore their passions and actively contribute to COTA’s mission of bringing clarity to cancer care.
As back-to-school season draws nearer, we’re putting the spotlight on the budding professionals who joined COTA’s marketing team this summer. Over the past several months, our interns worked closely with Senior VP of Marketing, Jaimee Ryan, to craft key messaging, collaborate with media, and share the COTA story with the world.
Joining a team that makes the most of every moment
Choosing an internship isn’t always easy, especially as healthcare and life sciences companies are doing their utmost to attract new faces in a time when top talent is in very high demand. New hires, whether interns or full-time employees, have to carefully evaluate a company’s culture before making a decision.
“What attracted me most to this internship opportunity was COTA’s brand and mission,” said Ashley Jewell, a business administration student at Furman University in South Carolina. “After having worked with data companies in the past, I was curious to see the role real-world data (RWD) played in healthcare.”
“Compared to my other experiences in the workforce, COTA is a company I feel proud to work for,” she added. “It is evident that everyone is there to support each other. I have raved to others about how inspiring the work is that is being done by COTA and how eager I am to come to work each day.”
NYU student Sophia Anderson, who is majoring in English and communications, was similarly struck by the COTA team’s commitment and enthusiasm when exploring potential internships at the start of the year.
“Every person I spoke to during the hiring process really cared about COTA and knew their position played an important role in the company’s mission,” she said. “It was clear that my time here wouldn’t be spent just sitting still. I knew I’d get real experience with people who are amazing at what they do.”
Open, supportive collaboration creates stronger future leaders
COTA’s interns closely shadow their team leaders to gain insights into the challenges of problem-solving in the life sciences industry and participate in structured learning activities, such as roundtable discussions with other departments, to get a comprehensive understanding of how the company functions as a whole.
They also do real work that contributes to team goals while honing their communication skills and learning about different styles of leadership and collaboration.
“I’ve learned how important it is to speak up about my ideas,” said Anderson. “Teams work better when people feel comfortable to try new strategies, and everyone at COTA is receptive to that. COTA’s marketing efforts frequently involve working cross-functionally, and I’ve gained a lot from talking to people in other departments or with different expertise to complete projects.”
For Jewell, working across internal departments and with external agencies also gave her the chance to share her insights, make her voice heard, and draw upon the strengths that she’s developed.
“It’s so important to take initiative and develop creativity by fearlessly presenting my own thoughts and ideas,” she said. “Next semester, I’m going to be taking on a Peer Mentor position where I will collaborate with advisors to co-facilitate seminar modules and class discussions while mentoring approximately 30 first-year students. There are so many direct parallels between what I’ve done this summer at COTA and this new role at school, and I feel more prepared than ever to succeed with it.”
Taking the next steps as skilled marketing professionals
Summer at COTA has inspired and prepared both interns as they work toward long-term career goals in the marketing field.
“From this experience, I feel ready to meet my goals of working in a big city and with digital marketing,” said Jewell. “Working directly on the content side of marketing at COTA, I have become acquainted with the resources and technology I will need for any future marketing job.”
Anderson also has her sights set on a marketing pathway, with ambitions to become a Chief Marketing Officer or even start her own firm.
“My time at COTA has really helped me shape how I approach those career goals,” she said. “I’ve gotten to do a lot of performance marketing during this internship, and I fell even deeper in love with it.”
“My boss, Jaimee, has given me the chance to do meaningful work in a variety of areas, from copywriting to compiling performance dashboards to merch design. Because of that, I know that I want my career to incorporate both creative and analytical approaches. I’m really excited to graduate and use my experiences at COTA to build my career!”
To learn more about career and internship opportunities at COTA please visit our career page.
