Klein College of Media and Communication boasts alumni like Claire Smith, KLN ’79, Merrill Reese, KLN ’64 and Juliana Pache, KLN ’14. These influential figures were all students who made waves throughout their time on campus and are trailblazers in their careers today. One student who will no doubt follow in their footsteps is Katherine Black, a junior communication studies major with a political science minor.  

“Katherine could literally ask me anything,” said Tyler Device, KLN ’18, ’23, assistant director of the Office of Student Success. “‘Can you write me a letter? It’s due at 3 p.m.’ Sure! Actually, I already have the letter done because you’ve earned it.”  

Black is a transfer student, works as a peer mentor at Klein College, has spent her life advocating for those with cystic fibrosis—receiving a fellowship with the Boomer Esiason Foundation last year—and was a constituent engagement and communications intern at the Smithsonian Institution over the past summer.  

Initially, Black felt lost when applying for internships. She didn’t know where she wanted to work, nor what her dream position looked like. After scouring the job listings on Handshake, she came across the Smithsonian internship. The fundraising-rooted position immediately caught her eye.  

“With my background doing work with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and other volunteer work, all of that’s very fundraising-minded,” said Black. “It felt like, even though it wasn’t something I thought at all before, this is totally on track with what I want to do: Nonprofit, mission-driven work.”  

The Constituent Engagement team at the Smithsonian focuses on fundraising across all sectors at the institution. They work with a myriad of different donors and highlight what the Smithsonian does with support from philanthropic groups.  

In her role, Black assisted with metadata ingestion for the digital asset management system. She organized thousands of photos, interviews and B-roll into a database. She also helped with event planning and assistance throughout the summer.  

Black’s biggest project involved researching and enhancing the Smithsonian’s social media strategies. She designed a post calendar for the Assistant Secretary for Advancement’s LinkedIn to ensure a greater audience saw information about the Smithsonian.  

Interns at the Smithsonian were also treated to exclusive looks at the museums. Black has aided video shoots and experienced all the learning and career opportunities the institution has to offer.  

“I think anything that’s behind the scenes is cool,” Black said. “I went to these museums when I visited D.C. when I was younger. Then, to be on the other side of things was just surreal.”  

The summer internship helped Black find a clearer path in what she wants to do in communications. She loved working for an institution like the Smithsonian and working closely with donors and nonprofits for the common good.   

“I feel like, with communications, a lot of people love to ask: ‘What are you going to do with that?’ I used to hate that, because I didn’t know. I didn’t have an exact plan,” shared Black. “But being here, I think, has made me excited and not intimidated by that. There’s so much out there, and I have a better understanding of what I could see myself doing in the future, but also just that there’s so many different opportunities and just to try new things.” 

Black shares that, without Klein College’s resources, she wouldn’t have been able to experience her internship at the Smithsonian. She found the position on Handshake, Temple’s one-stop career management platform, and received guidance from Klein College faculty members like Chirs Blackman, director of Career Services. To Black, she would not have held her position if it wasn’t for Klein College.  

“It opened a lot of doors in my head about what the future could look like,” said Black. “I still don’t know exactly what career path I want to take, but I’m definitely more interested in fundraising, communications, advancement and development and doing something in arts and culture.”  

To Thelma Kessely, a junior communication studies major who had Black as her peer mentor during her transfer student seminar, Black herself is a valuable resource to Klein College.  

“I thought she was really relatable,” said Kessely. “I feel like in those seminar classes, a lot of the peer mentors can feel intimidating or almost like another teacher. Katherine has always felt like another student to me. I felt she was easy to talk to.”  

DeVice is certain Black will continue to receive plenty of opportunities in her future and joked that he’ll be voting for her for president in the next 20 years. Though with her track record, that’s a viable possibility for Black. DeVice just hopes that Klein College has set her up to be as successful as she allows herself to be.  

“I would like to think that in part of her application to the Smithsonian, Katherine mentioned being a peer mentor at some point. Whether it was in her cover letter, whether it was in an interview when they asked her a question,” said DeVice. “I think that’s awesome.”