Jordan Rill

Marketing Intern

June 16 - September 17, 2025

Chic Thompson, Supervisor and Founder

Ednam Condos, 625 Worthington Dr,

Charlottesville, VA 22903

(434) 296-6138

I served as a Marketing Intern at WAGiLabs, a nonprofit that empowers children through entrepreneurship and idea-generation curricula with a focus on global impact. WAGiLabs operates within a niche, standing apart from entrepreneurship children’s authors by emphasizing collaborative, experiential projects that often connect students to funding opportunities. In a small and tight-knit environment, I acted as the marketing department, sourcing insights from social media to shape strategy and designing creative assets that made a positive impact.

My signature accomplishment was developing the WAGiWednesday Instagram Series, which transformed WAGiLabs’ physical Playbook curriculum into an engaging, digital format. This initiative brought WAGiLabs’ innovative curriculum to social media, with a plan to expand into TikTok, Youtube and also 200 classrooms in India as an asset of our WAGiIndia Iniative. In the coming months, the weekly launches will come to a close with subsequent redistribution on other platforms.

In addition, I helped advance an existing initiative called the Courage Cap Project, which provides specially designed hats for children with cancer. I deveoped a sewing pattern that allowed the concept to be replicated and scaled for production, ensuring that the idea could move beyond prototype and into the hands of children who would benefit. By building connections with systems like University MakerSpaces, I built a sustainable system that can continue to support the initiative long after my internship concludes. This fall, Wake Forest’s WakerSpace will facilitate workshops with WAGiLabs projected to create around 50 hats in the first months of operations, with plans to expanded across the MakerSpace Network next year.

Through this internship, I gained a deeper understanding of the nonprofit sector and confirmed my strong interest in ethical business practices. During collaborative work with those in the for-profit sphere, I saw more traditional for-profit businesses committed to making a positive social impact, often with more established structure and goals that I admired. I learned that I am particularly drawn to long-term system building, creating initiatives that can be sustained beyond a single campaign or semester. I also came to value the importance of flexibility in project management, especially when project scopes evolve. Feedback from my supervisor affirmed my ability to bring both creativity and structure to WAGiLabs’ mission-driven work.

Overall, this experience expanded my professional skills in marketing content generation, strategic communication, and creative problem-solving while reinforcing my commitment to aligning business with positive social impact.

The Blueprint (Portfolio Summary)

WAGiLabs was founded by Chic Thompson with the mission of inspiring and equipping children to become social entrepreneurs and idea generators. In 2001, Harvard Business School published a case on Thompson’s career called “What a Great Idea!” (aka W.A.G.I.) This served as the jumping off point of WAGiLabs' brand. Since then, the organization has developed the WAGi Playbook, a hands-on curriculum that helps children identify problems, create solutions, and build ideas that generate positive impact in their communities. Alongside this core curriculum, WAGiLabs has launched countless other initiatives, from funding education in areas lacking infrastructure to hosting kid think tanks (called Guppy Tanks) to brainstorm solutions to big picture problems.

The mission of WAGiLabs is to empower kids everywhere to be changemakers. Through an our entrepreneurship curriculum rooted in creativity, compassion, and courage, young innovators gain the tools to take their ideas from conception to reality. WAGiLabs primarily serves educators, providing them with activities to integrate entrepreneurial learning into classrooms. WAGiLabs is now expanding its reach to parents and children directly through social media and online platforms. We have always had a broad global focus that aligns with our idea that every child has something important to contribute. As a result of this mission, we have what we call our "International Labs" stationed in Nigeria, Ghana, India, and Mexico.

Ultimately, WAGiLabs serves kids as the end-users, equipping them with lifelong skills to guide their journeys.

The Foundation

WAGiLabs is a nonprofit organization driven by a core team of three members, supported by about ten rotating collaborators who contribute specialized expertise as needed. Work is organized by project rather than by department, with initiatives - whether global partnerships, digital content, or curriculum design - flowing through the core team for feedback and direction. During my internship, I fit into this project-based structure as a Marketing Intern, taking ownership of content creation, system development, and marketing strategy.

Although nonprofit by design, WAGiLabs plays an important role in the U.S. economy by preparing the next generation of entrepreneurs. By fostering skills of creativity, problem-solving, and resilience in children, the organization contributes to the development of the future generation of leaders, innovators, and businesses.

WAGiLabs exists within the broader field of youth entrepreneurship and education, where other organizations and authors also develop creative resources for children. However, WAGiLabs views such organizations not as competitors but as potential collaborators. This is perfectly exemplified in the “Let Me Fail” Project, co-created with Lowey Bundy Sichol. In this initiative, we pooled resources to design a program for educators that encourages children to embrace failure as part of the learning process. This collaborative mindset reflects WAGiLabs’ belief that the greatest impact comes from sharing resources and working together in service of positive change.

The Structure

Plan: Write a Strategic Analysis of the Adaptation Project
The purpose of this goal was two-fold. First, I wanted to articulate the creative strategy behind my decision-making so I could crystallize the insights I gathered during my internship for future WAGiLabs interns. Second, I wanted to see how it felt to put my full energy into the strategy behind the project—not just content creation or launch execution, but the bigger-picture thinking. Over the past semester, I’ve received nudges pointing me toward a strategy-oriented career path, even though my background has been much more content-focused. Writing this analysis confirmed that I thrive in the abstract and conceptual space and enjoy connecting the dots of strategy more than the more tedious aspects of execution. I achieved this goal, and my analysis can be viewed below. In hindsight, I would have enjoyed writing an initial draft with only the concept and data, then revisiting it after the project launched. I also hope to write another analysis later in the semester, this time on projects I had less direct proximity to, such as our global expansion.

Plan: Build Out My Portfolio
Since I have been focused on creative asset generation long before this internship, my starting portfolio was fairly well stocked. Because of that,

I set myself a steep qualifier: I would only count pieces that I’d be proud to show an employer. Despite my sometimes exhausting standards, I believe I hit this mark multiple times. Developing an original sewing pattern that I know will bring joy to many, and producing an 8 part series that will be used in global classrooms, I feel satisfied that I left my mark on WAGiLabs. I am especially grateful for the autonomy and bandwidth I was given to fully commit to these projects. I look forward to presenting them at the Wake at Work Showcase.

Plan: Make one, relevant LinkedIn connection per week.
I wanted to make the most of the well-connected nature of my supervisor and our founder, Chic Thompson. This proved challenging due to the small and remote nature of the internship. While I didn’t meet the exact measure I set for myself, I did build 3 personal connections with people in the WAGiLabs network whom I now consider close contacts. I’m extremely grateful for these relationships, and commit to keeping them in my network. In total, I made 6 LinkedIn connections through WAGiLabs, falling just short of my objective. I found that the limitations of time and virtual work made more personal networking more difficult.

Plan: Grow WAGiLabs’ Instagram Following
My most ambitious goal was to grow WAGiLabs’ Instagram presence from 200 to 400 followers. The actual result was an underwhelming gain of just five followers. Because of a hold on our business ad account, I was unable to boost posts to new audiences, which made it very difficult to increase reach and visibility. This was a hard lesson in perseverance and motivation. It was discouraging when the first episode launched and views trickled in, but I reminded myself that simply creating the series was an accomplishment in itself. I pushed through the mental roadblocks and learned to focus on what I could control. While it would have been exciting to see WAGiLabs burst onto

the social media scene, I understand now that building a

sustainable audience is a long road, and I only laid the foundation.

The Floor Plan

The Building Blocks (Accomplishments)

Building My Role at WAGiLabs

Although my formal title was Marketing Intern, my role was largely project-based. I worked collaboratively on initiatives such as the Abebrese Memorial Adaptation of the Playbook, the WAGiIndia Project, and the upcoming launch of WAGiCast, an interview-style podcast.

My signature projects, however, were...

WAGiWednesday: an animated video mini-series adapting the playbook into an engaging social media format.
The Courage Cap Project: a series of sewing-pattern booklets designed to scale production of hats with special features for children with cancer.

[Click each building block above to see more detail on my signature projects]

In addition, I regularly communicated with potential and existing collaborators, produced graphics for Instagram, and provided creative feedback across all ongoing projects. My solo work included scripting, filming, editing, animating, and voicing over content, as well as designing, writing, and prototyping for the Courage Cap Project. I also managed our Instagram account, scouting accounts with similar audiences and engaging with their content to make us visible in the community.

During my internship, I...

Produced and launched 6 WAGiWednesday episodes, with the final 2 scheduled to launch in the coming weeks.
Designed 2 graphics for Instagram to support engagement.

Created 5 iterations of Courage Cap booklets, tailored to students with different time and skill levels.

My biggest contributions were...

Bringing a young perspective to content strategy.
Producing tangible creative assets, from videos to sewing patterns.
Expanding the WAGiLabs network by bringing new collaborators into the fold and strengthening existing relationships.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and My Identity as a Professional

Over the course of my internship, I came to recognize a number of strengths that shaped my contributions. I leaned heavily on the breadth of my skillset—ranging from sewing and design to animation, editing, and communications—which allowed me to step into a wide variety of projects. I thrived in the autonomy WAGiLabs offered, taking full ownership of projects from day one and creating my own structure when expectations were ambiguous. I also grew confident in idea generation, offering potential solutions and new ideas during meetings where I was the most junior attendee. Perhaps most importantly, I became comfortable with WAGiLabs’ feedback-heavy culture. Instead of being discouraged by frequent critique, I embraced revisions and used them to elevate my work. Along the way, I also demonstrated strong ethical awareness, especially in considering the sensitivities of marketing that involves children.

That said, the internship also revealed several growth areas. At times, I stretched myself too thin by saying yes to too many opportunities, and I struggled to revisit timelines when project scopes expanded. I often defaulted to trial-and-error rather than asking for help or seeking guidance, which sometimes slowed my progress. My detail-oriented perspective also slowed down my workflow, and I began to aim for excellence instead of perfection to better balance quality and timeliness. Learning how to communicate alignment more directly in feedback conversations was also a challenge, as I tended to sugarcoat my concerns instead of addressing them head-on. Finally, I found it discouraging when external factors—like the hold on our business ad account—stalled progress toward my goals. While these moments tested my perseverance, they also underscored the importance of focusing on what I can control and staying resilient in the face of setbacks.

From this experience, I learned a great deal about myself and how I fit into an idea-focused, nonprofit work environment. I deeply resonated with the clearly communicated values of the organization, and it was reassuring to know that any ethical concerns I might have would be handled with care and sincerity. This alignment of values also served as a mantra during challenging moments: whenever my motivation began to dry up, I reminded myself that my work was making a difference and contributing to positive social impact.

Nonprofit work demands adaptability and intrinsic self-motivation. The unstructured flow of many simultaneous projects with little budget or human capital meant that I had to take full responsibility for my initiatives, seeing them through to completion all while incorporating feedback and adjusting to shifting scopes that destabilized timelines. I found that the most essential skill in an environment like this was the ability to create my own structure. When deadlines and expectations were ambiguous, having a strong sense of my own goals for my deliverables was essential to succeeding at this internship. By scheduling touchpoint meetings and setting my own work hours, I was able to create an atmosphere that challenged me to do my best work.

Another important skill I honed was being open to feedback. Some of my “final” project drafts went through as many as ten rounds of revisions before approval. While this could feel discouraging, I learned that iteration was part of the process and ultimately strengthened the final product. I noticed that peers sometimes struggled with the seemingly constant stream of critique that came from our brainstorming-driven management style, but I found that embracing feedback allowed me to explore unexpected project concepts and often sparked fresh ideas.

Finally, one of the greatest conceptual takeaways I gained was the importance of being open to new experiences. Chic Thompson often credited his career successes to saying “yes” to opportunities without a clear trajectory. Going forward, I hope to bring this same curious and open attitude to all aspects of my life, eager to embrace new challenges and discover what the world has to offer.

Through the Window
(Future Insights)

The Big Picture

Overall, my experience with WAGiLabs was very insightful. Through the hands-on work and lessons I learned during my time there, I feel better equipped to enter the work force knowing my professional identity and what I look for in a job. I was affirmed in my choice to pursue meaningful work with clear social impact, and I hope to approach my career in a manner that challenges the negative connotations that often shroud the business profession. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with WAGiLabs in my ongoing projects with them, and I am grateful for my summer as a full-time team member.