McKenna Radel '26 had heard how powerful the Siena network could be, but she was still caught off guard by its force and immediacy.
"It was literally after the first class of the semester. Professor Hall pulled me aside and asked if I would be interested in this internship."
Visiting Instructor of Marketing Nichol Hall runs her own consulting business, Pure Perspective Consulting. One of her clients, Ubiquity, a digital communications owner, developer, and operator, was looking for an intern.
"It probably helped that I sat in the front row," said Radel. "I've always done that. Sometimes I'm trying to avoid getting stuck behind really tall people, but really I just want to bring energy to the class."
That approach caught Hall's eye, and weeks later, Radel had secured the summer internship.
Radel learned the cloud-based operating system Monday, and used the tool to create a new onboarding kit. She also tracked reports, managed deadlines, and would review industry-relevant articles and provide summaries for the team.
"It was a great experience. I think it really helped my public speaking skills, and overall, it improved my career-readiness."
Radel says she was on the shy side growing up, and was more inclined to let opportunities pass her by. Not anymore.
"I try to never turn down opportunities. I want to take full advantage of the resources at Siena and knowing how helpful everyone can be."
Professor Hall is at the top of that list. Radel keeps in close contact (pictured together, above) and Ubiquity wanted Radel back this fall. Because of an already jam-packed schedule, Radel will pause the internship this semester, but the spring and/or next summer are in play. And after that, who knows...
"McKenna impressed me from day one. What first caught my attention was her concentration in project management. Then as I observed her throughout the class, she was attentive, participated in class discussion, and her questions and answers were well thought out. Ubiquity is a relatively new start up and just hired one of their previous interns. I knew they were looking for a new intern for the summer so I wanted to gauge her interest early on."
Nichol Hall, visiting instructor of marketing
