REFUGE Summer Internship Program 2016

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The REFUGE Group is excited to introduce our terrific Digital Marketing Interns: Giselle Cartagena, Tiffany Huynh, and Brandon Palmer!  The summer internship team, affectionately known as the Terrific Trio, has focused on various areas of marketing including social media, analytics, blogs, and other aspects of digital marketing.  The team has also participated in training sessions, client meetings, and webinars regarding topics such as mobile marketing and social media.  Vlad Vidaeff, REFUGE’s Social Media Manager, stated: “the diversity of experiences that our summer internship team has brought to REFUGE has created such an enriching team dynamic.  We have been working hard but also having a blast while we’re at it!”

Giselle Cartagena

Giselle Cartagena was born and raised in the “bridge of the world”, better known as Panama. When she was 12 years old, her family decided to move to the United States, indulging in the culturally diverse city of Houston. She graduated from Stafford High School and ventured off to Texas A&M Corpus Christi to pursue her bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Marketing. After a year in Corpus, she returned to Houston to expand her network and student involvement. Since then, her college experience has been filled with unique opportunities. She is an active member of Public Relations Student Society of America and Bauer Women’s Society, where she has taken active leadership positions for tremendous growth. Her most impactful experience was being an exchange “Global Citizen” with AIESEC in Brazil where she joined 25 students from various countries to aid the lives of local children and institutions with her management and marketing skills through the SMARKETING program. She led a team that developed an organizational plan for a medium-sized staff, development activities for the students, and increased awareness for the school by partnering up with the media and corporations.

Giselle dedicates her free time to her family, friends, salsa dancing, and volunteering as a wish granter with Make-A-Wish Foundation. After graduation, she plans on focusing on her blooming career in marketing and communications. Along with her bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, she will be graduating with a corporate entrepreneurship certificate, which will provide her valuable structure and guidance to reach her goals of owning her day spa and a non-profit organization benefiting children around the world.

Tiffany Huynh

Tiffany Huynh was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She attended Clear Springs High School, where she was active in the fine arts program – playing harp and piano in the orchestra, and being part of the four-year dance program – as well as volunteering, serving as president of Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society) and secretary of Student United Way.

All throughout high school, Tiffany believed that she wanted to pursue a career in medicine. However, shortly after being accepted as a chemistry major at the University of Texas at Austin (and before she had even begun her first year), she had a change of heart so she took a leap of faith and changed her major.

Tiffany is currently attending the University of Texas as a psychology major with a business minor. She has found this combination to be a great way of uniting her interests, in that she wants to understand individuals and be able to apply that knowledge to the workplace. Tiffany is now exploring paths like industrial organization psychology, human resources, and marketing.

In her spare time, Tiffany enjoys exploring the amazing food and coffee scene in Austin (and documenting her adventures on Instagram!!), interning at a psychology lab, and volunteering with her university’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity while managing their Instagram page.

Brandon Palmer

Brandon Palmer was born, raised, and continues to live in Houston, Texas. As a native Houstonian, he has an affinity for, and relationship with all that the city of Houston has to offer. When he was a child, Brandon’s mother remarked that he was an advertiser’s dream, since he was instantly sold on anything that television commercials were peddling. Interestingly enough, now he is following his dream and passion of working in the marketing field, and can laugh good-naturedly at his love of infomercials as a child.

By the spring of 2017, Brandon will finish a marketing degree from the University of Houston-Downtown. His college career started many years ago at the University of Texas-San Antonio, but like many of us, the irresponsibility of youth prevented completing a degree. Now however, he has a 3.92 GPA and maintains a position on the Dean’s List, all the while working full-time and interning with The Refuge Group. He believes that working hard, dedication, persistence, honesty, and compassion are the most important values that one can have in life.

When he is not working or attending class in the evenings, Brandon enjoys playing guitar, grabbing coffee with friends, trying new restaurants, going to the gym, running on TC Jester Trail, and biking on the Heights Bike Trail. In addition, he spends a large portion of his free time participating in a non-profit organization locally, and is grateful for the opportunity to serve as an executive board member.

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Tiffany

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