Student Spotlight: Julian Stainback 

ComArtSci student Julian Stainback spent the summer of 2021 interning at Healers of Color Collaborative of Michigan, where he was a user social media marketing intern. 

While working as a social media marketing intern, his primary functions were to jumpstart the organization’s social media presence by creating accounts for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. By using the skills that he learned from Focal Point, Stainback was able to bring awareness to the nonprofit. 

Although this was his first internship, Stainback adjusted quickly and learned many lessons. 

“The greatest lesson I learned while participating in the internship was the importance of time management,” he said. “Because I took my internship over the summer, the course load that I had was accelerated, which meant that I had to juggle my classwork with my internship. 

“I learned that being organized is a crucial skill to have in social media. Without effective time management, social media could start to lose notability.” 

Stainback is involved in many organizations on campus. He currently holds the position of social media chair of MSU’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, head video editor for MSU Telecasters, and executive producer for Focal Point News.  

With Stainback being a fifth-year student, he is looking for job opportunities after college and developing a roadmap to success after graduation. He has also begun to find another internship in TV news as a producer. 

“What’s next for me is graduating,” he said. “Considering the fact that I’m a double major, it has been very tough to balance personal life with academia. When I changed my major, I was behind on classes which resulted in another year of studies for me. I’ll be graduating this spring and I’m excited for the world after.”  

Some of Stainback’s favorite memories are getting accepted into the school of journalism, winning awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters for his work, and joining the NABJ where he learned professional development.                                        

By Demetria Bias