Meet our Intern: Christina MacArthur

Having grown up helping out at my dad’s small marketing company on the North Shore, Gray Matter Marketing naturally caught my eye when I began my search for a senior internship. When I first inquired about this internship at Gray Matter, I was told right off the bat that it was going to be an entirely immersive, hands-on experience, and that I would get to be involved in a little bit of everything. That couldn’t have been more accurate. 

Having the opportunity to help out and work at Gray Matter events has been an overall multifarious experience. Not only did I learn a lot while working on different projects in the office (communicating with charitable partners, drafting social media/blog posts, etc.), but I was also exposed to what goes into “the before, during, and after” of putting together a successful Gray Matter event. Each event provided a new and unique insight into the logistics of the event planning world. 

Cape Cod Brew Fest was my first event with Gray Matter Marketing, and it sure set the bar pretty high for the next ones. Even washing dirty beer buckets the following week contributed to the whole experience. Although Brew Fest was a total blast, nothing was quite like the vicarious sense of accomplishment you experience after seeing thousands of tired, but proud faces pass the finish line at a road race or marathon. Everyone’s exhausted but the energy is still high!

This internship gave me the opportunity to learn from and work with an awesome team of industry professionals. Because the Gray Matter Marketing team is comprised of only a handful of people, everyone contributes more than just what’s in their traditional job description. Everyone pitches in to make sure the events run smoothly, so that customers continue to return each year, and keep posting all those positive reviews! It’s incredible how quickly an entire event can get packed up when everyone is being productive and moving quickly (especially when you’re racing against approaching traffic while packing up the last bit of a road race).

Overall, I love being surrounded by people enjoying a fun event, and having the opportunity to capture that is one of my favorite things to do (which is one of the many reasons I’ve enjoyed this internship so much)! Gray Matter creates a fun, supportive environment with every event they produce.

As I approach my final semester as both a Communications and Music major at Salve Regina University, I’d like to thank everyone at Gray Matter Marketing for making my senior internship a memorable one. I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to do more at my last internship than just sit at a desk each week, and I am also very grateful for the office dogs.

For future interns: Don’t be afraid to roll your sleeves up and get your hands dirty! It will only contribute to this being one of the most rewarding internships you’ll get to experience.