I spent the summer completing an externship at the Idaho Innovation Center in Idaho Falls, and I couldn’t have asked for a better introductory project. My task? To develop a full marketing campaign for the new certified commercial kitchen. Working alongside teammate Shannon Olsen of White Pine and guided by mentor Marshae Campbell, my mission was to build awareness, engage the local food‑entrepreneur community, and generate interest and leads for kitchen usage.

Over the summer, I dove into crafting a multi-faceted marketing strategy-researching commercial kitchens, cooking classes, and planning social media content. I attended business classes through The Innovation Center. To gather inspiration and real-world insights, I visited commercial kitchens in Boise, including Osage Kitchen in Boise. Working with Verna at Osage, I learned valuable lessons in kitchen logistics, marketing, and networking, all of which informed improvements I suggested for IIC’s kitchen marketing focus.

This experience gave me hands‑on practice in strategic marketing and enhanced my understanding of operational needs within a commercial kitchen. Learning to use AI as a tool to generate ideas, refine copy, and streamline social media planning was a game-changer. It sparked my creativity for classroom applications: this fall, I’ll be using AI to design customized STEM activities—step-by-step experiments, creative engineering challenges, and support for students’ scientific writing and lab reports.

Ultimately, this externship didn’t just enrich my professional toolkit-it reshaped my teaching approach. I’m excited to bring storytelling-inspired by all of the business start up companies that I learned about this summer, and AI-fueled creativity back to the classroom. A huge thanks to Shannon for collaborating on the marketing campaign, Marshae for her mentorship, and Verna for sharing her expertise. This summer has truly shown me how innovation, community, and STEM intersect—and I can’t wait to incorporate these lessons into my classroom and future work.

Grade Level and Subject Taught: 4th and 5th Grades Combined