Intern Wall of Fame
Apply for Second Glass Internships
Our interns play an important role behind the scenes as well as in the development of The Second Glass. Without their dedication, The Second Glass would not be what it is today. Herein, we present the exalted interns emeriti:
Sarah McCulley, Administrative Intern, Summer 2010
I finished my degree in film at Emerson College in December of 2009, and I had a bit of time before my lease in Boston was up. I was bartending in the city, but I was really looking for a new and interesting opportunity to develop some new professional skills and to keep building my experience as I awaited my next big life adventure. After a few ridiculous and failed attempts, I saw that Second Glass was looking for an intern. As a long time fan of Wine Riot and wine in general, I knew I was interested. Plus, I had friends who had worked with the company in the past and loved it. I thought, what do I have to lose? So, I applied to be an Administrative Intern for the summer.
At my interview, Tyler and Morgan outlined the details of the job, and I somehow convinced them that in addition to that, what they really needed was someone with a film background to do some videos for them. So I got the job! In addition to heading up the Wine of the Weekend each week, I filmed our various events and outings to create content for the web. I even had the immense pleasure of filming and editing the video that helped Tyler and Morgan be named two of the coolest entrepreneurs under the age of 30 for Inc Magazine!
Working for Second Glass allowed me to do something totally different for a summer, which was something I really needed as I desperately floundered to figure out my immediate future. Plus, telling people you work for a wine events company really makes you seem like a little bit more of a badass than you actually are. I also got to learn a ton about startup companies, and now am more than a little bit obsessed.
Now I’m off to the Big(er) City, moving to New York to be a musical theatre star!! Broadway here I come!! But seriously, I’m off to start my professional film career in NYC. If you’re thinking about applying to Second Glass, definitely do it. You will learn a lot, get to work for a great company with great people, and like me, can tailor it into a unique professional experience that’s perfect for your résumé!
Liz Demakos, Marketing and Events Assistant, Wine Riot Assistant, Winter/Spring/Summer 2010
I arrived in Boston in December ’09 to coach squash after being uprooted from both my hometown in Buffalo and from Wesleyan University where I completed my undergraduate degree. Wanting to dive head first into a new city, I began searching online for great work opportunities. When I saw Second Glass’ posting I thought it was too good to be true! That week I met with Morgan and Tyler, and the rest is history.
Over the next months I had what turned out to be the coolest, most prolific job experience of my career. My tasks varied widely from week to week, including coordinating the April ’10 Wine Riot and corralling our amazing volunteers, interviewing local wine celebrities, assisting in marketing and SG events, flexing my social media biceps, maintaining existing websites and constructing new ones, all the while working with the most interesting and ambitious company around. The crowning glory was Wine Riot, a weekend where all our hard work paid off and everyone had a blast!
Working for SG allowed me to learn a TON about wine, business and marketing, and how to craft passion and ambition towards success. Not only did I stock my arsenal with valuable work experience, I connected with a strong Boston community- a pairing I wouldn’t have secured anywhere else. Before Second Glass I was definitely timid about my next step. Now I am poised, ready and thoroughly pumped to bust down the Real World’s front door and shotgun a beer in the doorway.
Advice to future interns: Stay curious- there’s always something to learn (especially if you ask Avery); Work hard, party hard, and bring your A-game!
Ashley Lashgari, Wine Riot Coordinator, Fall/Winter/Spring ‘09-’10
I started out as a volunteer for the first Wine Riot, had so much fun, and knew that I wanted to be a part of it. Then, as I was checking out the Second Glass website, I saw they needed a marketing intern! I was finishing up my MBA at Northeastern at the same time the job market was the worst ever, so I thought interning for a while for a company that was super fun would be a great next step. After being the Marketing Intern for the second Wine Riot, I was promoted to Wine Riot Coordinator for the third happening.
At Second Glass, I pretty much got to do a little bit of everything. I loved writing press releases, blog posts, Facebook posts and Tweets because I got to throw my terrible sense of humor into my writing, and people might actually think I was funny (maybe..). Working in the office with amazing people everyday is one of the serious perks of this job; something fun/hilarious is always going on. The best and most rewarding part about my job was seeing everything come together at Wine Riot, meeting all the vendors I had been in contact with for so long, and seeing how much fun everyone was having.
I am now in the market for a job, but I have no worries whatsoever that I will find an awesome one because my time at Second Glass has given me the best foundation to do whatever my little heart desires. I’ve learned how to take an idea and run with it, promote the heck out of something without much money, speak to a big audience through social media, and HAVE FUN while I work! I also picked up some killer wine knowledge while I was at it.
Advice to future interns: Learn as much as you can from Morgan! She is a Marketing/PR/Entrepreneurial genius. Don’t try to make everyone play Biggest Loser: Office Edition with you because everyone will gain weight and stop playing. Oh, and throw in corny jokes whenever possible, even though Tyler HATES them ;)
Adriana Echandi, Social/New Media Intern, Marketing & Community Asst. Director, Winter/Spring ‘10
It was my junior year of college and I had decided to graduate a year early-but I was stuck in a tower of a castle a million miles away from the United States in the Netherlands. Oh, and I had no idea what to do with my life. Searching through job message boards Morgan First’s name beckoned to me like a light in tunnel. I had worked with Morgan before in Emerson’s Marketing EmComm group, I have had social media, blogosphere experience—and I was good at parties, duh! Actually I am also from the San Francisco Bay Area and have been cruising wineries with my folks since I was a baby: so fiesta + wine + interweb = I am so down!
As a fashionista, I was so happy to work in an environment where I was more than welcome to express myself, and the office, aptly named “Hangout Industries”, was exactly how it sounded. The first day of my internship we had an entire office tasting where all the other young start ups got together and got smashed on delicious wine and played foos ball- I knew it was meant to be.
I felt like the first few weeks I was attending some sort of alternative school. We had educational meetings to discuss how to use google analytics, SEM (search engine marketing), SEO (search engine optimization) strategy, twitter and much more! I thought, this is way more education than what I am getting from a textbook! I even took notes down in a notebook that I will definitely reference from time to time.
Going through such an exciting and crazy transition of post-grad life, I am so glad Morgan and the SG team gave me the confidence and tools to succeed in whatever endeavors I choose. I am moving to Brooklyn, NY and going to work for a fashion/style start up. Thank you to this amazing team!!
Advice to future interns: If you want to intern with an optimistic, open and supportive team- where you will actually learn and be part of something, look no further and drink more wine!
Jessica Margolis-Pineo, Marketing Intern, Summer 2009
The Second Glass was brought up to me by a professor who happened to notice that I was hungover with purple stains on my lips almost every time that I saw her. “I had a big… Tuesday,” was a normal response from me. It was her genius that brought me to Morgan and Tyler, and after a super intimidating interview I was hired and appreciated for my booze-hound nature.
While at TSG I maintained a lot of their social online media – from Twitter to Facebook. I worked closely under Morgan and looked to her for guidance, but it was a very self-directed position which I appreciated. I learned how to change up our Wine of the Week web-blast and organize lists on Constant Contact like a pro. I did a fair amount of research and list making and was in charge of keeping the office amused. Highlights of my time at TSG include – weekly phone calls to wine stores and putting on fake accents, dressing up and sitting in Post Office Square with Kate to give away RIOT tickets, and wearing my Fez in the office almost every day. I looked like a pencil, but a pretty coooool pencil.
Now that I have completed my graduate program at Emerson College the next step for me is… well, your guess is as good as mine. I think I might go to the beach this weekend. Does that count? What I can say is working with the amazing people at The Second Glass showed me the exciting side of Boston, and how I should properly appreciate my life here. Also there is a fine balance between work and fun, and making friends at TSG showed me that the lame work part does not have to be, well, lame.
BE WARNED, ye potential interns, there are things you MUST KNOW before working at The Second Glass: Tyler gets cranky is he does not get fed crasins on an hourly basis, and he does not like to be called “Tyyyyyrece!” Perhaps because of the poor acting skills of Tyrece Gibson in Tyler’s favorite film, 2 Fast 2 Furious. Morgan prioritizes things to do using different highlighter colors, but the color order is not red to purple but in the order that she LIKES those colors. Kate has a penchant for high heels and has developed a kind-of “high heel morgue” underneath her desk. It is the first of its kind and she is working on a trademark for it. Kate will occasionally get cranky as well, but it is often because she misses her glasses that she no longer wears – to remedy this perhaps suggest going outside so she can wear sunglasses.
Maggie Dayton, Marketing Assistant – Spring ‘09, Wine Riot Coordinator – Summer ‘09
Morgan and I went way back to MAP: Boston days– I joined the company’s EmComm account in my second year at Emerson College. I loved working with Morgan and her awesomely cool planner! Flash forward to my senior year, and I can’t find an interesting internship for the spring to save my life. Morgan shows up in my business class to give a presentation on social media, and in catching up after class, she told me about a position opening at Second Glass! After attending their first Holiday Wine Guide launch party and meeting Tyler, I was on board. When I graduated, I planned on heading home for the summer before going backpacking through Europe that Fall, but Morgan & Tyler quickly convinved me that it was a much better idea to stick around, plan the next Wine Riot, and leave for Europe after that.
In the months I spent with SG, the company exploded! Our first Wine Riot in April 2009 was absolutely amazing– we all had so much fun. While on staff, I helped coordinate all marketing efforts behind WR and our weekly crash course events, write press releases, make contacts, attend fun industry events, and lend a hand, or my opinion, wherever needed. I learned so much from SG about business, marketing, and of course wine!
Being with SG changed my life forever! While abroad, I had such a higher appreciation for what I was drinking (and I’d like to think I did the company proud!), and experiencing as a result. Upon returning to Boston, I accepted a position as Private Events Coordinator for the opening of Russell House Tavern, in Harvard Square. Coming from the fast-paced world of a start up company, I was able to think of my feet, manage events & client relations and still talk to people about awesome food & wine.
Advice to Future Interns: Have fun! Don’t be afraid to speak up, this is a company where your opinion and work mean a lot! Talk cars with Tyler and shoes with Morgan. Come in with an open mind and an empty glass, and you’ll leave with both filled to the brim.
Lauren Michaud, Wine Riot Coordinator, Spring (& Summer-ish?) ‘09
I decided to intern with The Second Glass for lots of reasons – I knew of the awesome energy they put into their endeavors; I loved the new approach they were taking to smashing snobby stigmas about wine; but mainly, since it’s a young company, everyone has a hands-on say in what goes on, & I liked being able to pitch my own ideas & run with them. (Also, without a doubt the coolest bosses you will ever have. And did I mention the wine?!)
At The Second Glass, I was the Event Coordinator for the first installment of Wine Riot. I got to handle the logistical details so that the creative entrepreneurs could focus on being brilliant day-to-day. From venue contact and exhibitor liaisons to volunteer management and day-of details, I got to take management’s ideas & made sure they came to life. I also encouraged Tyler to take mid-afternoon coffee breaks, and created at least 3 google docs a day.
My time at TSG coincided with the final semester of my Masters in Marketing Communications at Emerson. Now-a-days, I live back in my hometown in Louisiana and do fundraising and marketing for a local non-profit. My time working on Wine Riot definitely taught me the ways of pitching sponsors & spinning your benefits into language they can’t refuse, as well as “promoting on the cheap.” This is a GREAT place to work to boost your social media and online marketing skillz, in addition to writing, event management, and PR finesse from the lovely Ms. First, the Best Stalker I Know.
Advice to future interns: Be FLEXIBLE, Maintain the scoreboard (we’re winning), & Don’t be embarrassed to spit!
Holly Gordon, Design Intern, Spring of 2009
