What a communications internship taught me about telling stories that matter

I started this internship thinking I was here to learn digital communications skills. I leave it knowing that’s only half of what happened.

My job on paper was straightforward: build social content, write donor emails, and track engagement. What I didn’t expect was how much care goes into telling stories responsibly. Every piece of content carries the weight of real people’s experiences, struggles, or successes, which means the work isn’t just about creating something engaging—it’s about making sure it’s accurate, honest, and deeply human.

At Amica Center, I learned the power of creating content rooted in truth. Every piece of content had to share a lawsuit or a policy change as fact, not spectacle, trusting that the audience could handle the truth without it being dressed up, understanding that the truth is powerful enough on its own.

I also learned to look at the numbers instead of just simply posting and hoping. Understanding the analytics allows us to know what types of framing resonated with people and which ones needed a different angle. Together, tone and data taught me to think of “brand voice” less as a rulebook and more as a promise: that the reader or viewer could trust that Amica Center was telling them something real.

But the biggest lesson didn’t come from a style guide or a dashboard. It came from spending months researching ICE attacks, immigration policies, and the inhumane systems that fail the people caught inside of them. Every project started with research, and each one chipped away at how much I thought I already understood about immigration in this country.

I learned that “detention” means months or years alone in jail, waiting for an attorney, for a court date, or a chance to see your family again. I learned that “due process gaps” means a child sitting alone in an immigration court with no one to explain what is happening to them. I learned that policies rarely stay abstract for long as they end up becoming a person’s daily reality.

I came into this internship wanting to get better at marketing. While I’m leaving with those skills, I’m also leaving with something I didn’t know to ask for: a responsibility that comes from telling other people’s stories and a deeper understanding of what’s actually happening to people inside an immigration system that was never built with justice or humanity in mind. I’m grateful to my team for trusting me with stories that carry real weight, and for showing me that good communications work isn’t just about craft; it’s about using that craft with care, honesty, and purpose.