Intern Q&A: Miska Salemann

Meet Miska Salemann, United to Beat Malaria’s Communications and Digital Media Intern. Miska has been a vital member of our Communications team for the past eight months. She has both supported and lead a wide range of editorial, film production, social media, graphic design, and other communications projects. Before her internship comes to a close, we’d like to give Miska an opportunity to share some of the highlights and lessons learned during her two semesters with the campaign.

Tell me about yourself! 

I grew up outside of Seattle, WA. While I loved everything the West Coast offered, especially skiing and hiking, I knew that I wanted to come to the East Coast for college. I decided to attend Northeastern University in Boston to pursue a journalism degree because I’ve always been interested in how the news shapes our worldviews. I will be graduating next Fall. When I’m not working, I’m running outside or chasing my endlessly energetic 1 year-old puppy around the house. 

What do you do in your day-to-day work with the campaign?

As the communications and digital media intern, I have the opportunity to dive into a variety of projects that highlight the work of our campaign. On the social media front, I develop content such as polls and infographics to increase engagement with our supporters. I’ve also had the opportunity to identify and engage with influencers to help promote our work. I even got the chance to work on producing a film to recap our IRS spraying campaign in Borno State. As an enthusiastic writer, I have also jumped into blog planning. From developing content plans to drafting stories, there is no shortage of work to do!

What surprised you most about your internship experience?

I think that there is a major misunderstanding that global health organizations like the UN Foundation are quite bureaucratic, and internships are just for “coffee-running.” That has been so far from my experience. From the second I joined the team, I felt that my day-to-day work was directly impacting our campaign. I also have been given the freedom to choose the projects I am most interested in. More than anything, I’m grateful for how invested my managers are in making sure I get the most out of this internship. The Beat Malaria team is small, but everyone is extremely supportive of each other!

 What was your personal highlight? 

In the lead up to the 2022 Leadership Summit, the communications team spent a lot of time planning for the best way to roll out our new brand. I’ve never been with an organization during a brand change, so this was a great time for me to learn about all the work that goes into messaging. In the lead up to Summit, we also have the opportunity to record “Why I’m United to Beat Malaria” videos. One of my favorite moments of my internship was seeing my video played during the Leadership Summit!

What’s next? 

I can’t wait to graduate! Since starting college, I’ve had the opportunity to complete internships both with UNFPA and Beat Malaria. After graduation, I hope to be able to use my journalism degree to communicate issues related to global development and the SDGs. In the meantime, I will be freelancing!

Are you interested in becoming an intern? our Communications and Advocacy teams are currently hiring paid Summer interns! This will be a great opportunity to both lead and support a wide range of essential projects while working within the UN and global health communities. Go to UN Foundation’s Careers page to apply.