#NYITSOM Spotlight: Sonali Kapoor recently graduated from NYIT. She obtained her MBA with a concentration in Marketing. While studying at NYIT, Sonali was a graduate assistant for two different departments, worked on creating her own business, and interned with Warner Media’s CNN. Although Sonali found being an ad sales and marketing research intern to be challenging, she believes the experience has been instrumental in helping her reach her future goals.

When discussing her internship experience, Sonali writes, “My desk looked through the Hudson River, and the view from the 48^th floor was breathtaking. I sat around some of the most hardworking and talented people. The floor had research associates from CNN, Cartoon network, Warner Media and HBO. The team taught me everything valuable I know about Market research.

The other two interns in my team worked on CNN TV and Media respectively. However, there were over 150 other interns working for CNN during this time. All of us were from different majors, different schools, and everyone had amazing skills. We had intern events where we got the chance to meet some of the top executives and learnt some valuable lessons from their time at Warner Media. Apart from that, we also had our team meeting where the teams discussed sales process and objectives. It helped me get a bigger perspective of how the business functions.

I was blessed with a great team who made sure I was adding value to my existing skills. I got chance to work for companies like Amazon, Hulu and Uber. My team showed great trust in me, and they always encouraged me to make my own mistakes. My supervisors monitored and taught me whenever I felt stuck. I am happy my experience was not like what I saw in movies, the only person I had to fetch coffee for was me!”

Sonali’s experience at CNN shows how hardworking and dedicated she is. In every aspect of her life, she is constantly asking questions, talking to others, and taking every opportunity to learn and grow. We will miss her at NYIT, but we cannot wait to see what she accomplishes with all of the skills and knowledge she has gained along the way.

By Sonali Kapoor and Konstance Teleisha