Intern Feature: Robert Barnes

This semester, I worked (and still work) for a real estate and roommate matchmaking start up company called ‘Perfect Strangers of NYC’. The start up is based out of NYC, and recently began a brand ambassador program here on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. My job title is Brand Ambassador Manager, meaning I manage the eight other brand ambassadors and make sure everyone is performing their job. Within the program, there are multiple different positions, which include, but are not limited to: Marketing, Research & Development, and Event Planning. I specify these three departments because they are the main focus for our team as brand ambassadors of Perfect Strangers of NYC. Lately, we have been planning on how the team in New York will transition into Boston in the near future, hence why research & development has been so crucial as of late.

HOW DID YOU FIND THIS OPPORTUNITY?

I took an entrepreneurship seminar during the Fall 2015 semester with Bob Lowry. First off, I would like to recommend this class to everyone, as it is eye opening and provides numerous opportunities for everyone. Anyways, I took this seminar and Sarah Hill, founder of Perfect Strangers of NYC and UMass alum alike, spoke to our class about how she began her company. I stuck around after class to speak with her because I found her business model very interesting and unique, as well as her personality very inviting. I spoke with her, telling her of my interest in her original take on real estate, and she told me to keep in contact with her over winter break. Sure enough, after a couple of emails traded back-and-forth, she informed me of an ambassador program that she was thinking of putting together, and that within the first couple weeks of the Spring 2016 semester there would be a meeting for those interested. After the meeting, I was informed that they would love to have me, and told me I would be in charge of running the program here at UMass.

WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN LIKE AND WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?

I have learned more with this on-campus internship offered by Perfect Strangers of NYC than I have with any other job I have held in the entirety of my life. I have found myself in a unique situation where I am exposed to a plethora of different positions. As manager, I review everyone’s work, and through doing so, learn not only about the positions they hold, but new and unique ways to approach these positions. I also get a chance to practice my managerial tactics, some of which I am learning in a course I am currently enrolled in. Thus far, the most important thing I’ve learned by far is that with the proper motivation and the right team, there is no task too big that my team cannot accomplish. I have also learned a lot about how a start up functions. It’s incredibly interesting to work for a start up in comparison to a normal business, as there is much more freedom within a start up, but along with that freedom is figuring out the proper steps to take. The internship has been one big learning experience, exposing me to a vast amount of business and entrepreneurial knowledge. I can honestly say I am very content with how much I’ve discovered since my first day on the job.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER STUDENTS?

All I can say is to always beyond the lookout for any internship available, on or off campus, especially if you are a freshman or a sophomore. I forced myself to apply for internships on campus, and no class can teach you what an internship can. The hands-on experience one receives when working an internship allows a preliminary look into what life after college will look like, and to take on the initiative of finding an internship for one’s self is to mimic the process of finding a job. I, myself, am a visual learner, so I learn much better when I can interact with my work, and while reading and studying books can be helpful, there is no other experience or opportunity like an internship to truly teach someone.