InternViews: Mary Emma Coates

InternViews is a series where we ask Grady College students to describe their internship experience.

Mary Emma Coates is a fourth-year public relations major from Dunwoody, Georgia. This year, she’s spending her summer as a corporate social responsibility intern at Cox Enterprises in Atlanta, Georgia. Read more about her internship experience below.

Provide a brief overview of your role and its associated responsibilities.

This summer, I am supporting the Corporate Social Responsibility team at Cox Enterprises, where I help advance the company’s commitment to community impact and employee engagement. Volunteerism and service are deeply embedded in Cox’s culture, and employees are encouraged to give back to the communities where they live and work. In this role, I help plan and coordinate volunteer opportunities, promote employee participation and engage employees with our non-profit partnerships.

What is one piece of work you are proud of creating in this role?

While Cox Enterprises is headquartered in Atlanta, many employees work remotely across the country. As an intern with the community impact team, I have helped create volunteer opportunities that allow employees outside of Atlanta to engage with our nonprofit partners.

Over the past month, I helped plan three virtual volunteer events where employees assembled donation kits for nonprofit organizations. In June, employees will pack hygiene kits for Chris 180, a nonprofit that provides safe housing and family support services, in partnership with Cox’s Pride Employee Resource Group for Pride Month.

For this event, I coordinated volunteer registration, managed the nonprofit partnership, sourced supplies through a vendor and collaborated with the Pride ERG to bring the event to life. I am excited to continue planning these monthly volunteer events through the end of the year!

How has the Grady curriculum prepared you for this internship?

This past semester, I completed the Campaigns course with Sabrena Deal, where I worked with a local Athens nonprofit to support its marketing and communications efforts. Throughout the semester, my team developed a comprehensive content calendar, created social media content, designed newsletter templates to improve email communication consistency and provided recommendations to enhance the organization’s website.

Over the past five weeks at Cox, I have applied many of these same skills in a corporate setting. I completed the June employee newsletter, provided website recommendations for one of our nonprofit partners and supported social media initiatives that highlight Cox’s volunteerism and community impact efforts. My experience working closely with a nonprofit client also gave me valuable insight into the nonprofit perspective, helping me better understand the needs and priorities of community partners. This perspective has strengthened my ability to support meaningful partnerships between Cox and the organizations it serves.

Did you receive any mentorship or guidance? How did it impact your experience?

One aspect of my experience at Cox that has stood out to me is the company’s emphasis on building meaningful relationships. Through coffee chats and informal conversations, I have had the opportunity to get to know colleagues beyond their roles and learn from their unique experiences. I have also been impressed by how willing employees are to connect and share insights when I reach out to learn more about their careers and areas of expertise.

What challenges have you overcome in this role?

Transitioning into my first corporate role was a significant adjustment. At first, it felt uncomfortable entering an unfamiliar environment where I was still learning and gaining confidence. However, I quickly became more comfortable through the support of my team and the broader company culture. The welcoming and encouraging people around me have helped me feel included which has grown my confidence.

Editor: Sarah Kate Maher, skm01341@uga.edu