Initially unfamiliar with Chief Industries, Hastings College marketing major Juana Lucas discovered the company during a job fair on campus last spring — and landed a summer internship where she gained hands-on experience in social media.
At the job fair, Lucas, a junior from Grand Island, Nebraska, spoke with a representative from Chief about her interest in marketing and plans for the future.
“We talked about being a marketing major, and then she told me that they were specifically looking for a marketing intern who could bring a creative perspective to the team,” she said.
Chief Industries is a family-owned, service-oriented company that is based in Grand Island. It was founded in 1954 and today is a diverse, global company with seven brand divisions, ranging from agriculture to construction to ethanol.
Lucas’s internship centered on Chief Buildings, which manufactures a wide variety of custom steel buildings for applications such as retail stores, storage, warehouses, service buildings, schools and more.
Her work involved applying social media skills and creative content planning to assist the brand’s marketing team. She also would post employee appreciation photos, project updates and more on the company’s Instagram and other social media accounts.
“I work closely with the marketing director of Chief Buildings, Jessica Igo, and she has helped me learn so much about this company. I had no idea what Chief Buildings offered when I first took the position, but now I have learned so much about the industry and what it means to work for this company,” Lucas said.
Without some of the resources at Hastings College, Lucas said she felt as though she wouldn’t have gotten the internship. She said Career Services staff helped her prepare a resume before the career fair, and then provided support as she completed the application for the internship.
Business professor Roxann Holliday then helped her feel confident as a marketing student by showing her how to apply class concepts to her internship.
After graduation, Lucas said she plans to go straight into the workforce, hopefully landing a marketing position with a construction or other firm.
