N.C. A&T Alumni Times

Social media has become a part of people’s daily lives, it’s how users express themselves, receive breaking news and often times discover their identities. For Diamond Young ’16, if someone had told her a year ago that she would be working in Silicon Valley for one of the top social media platforms, she probably wouldn’t have believed them. This summer she was granted an opportunity she couldn’t pass up to become an intern at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, California.

Young, a native of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, has always been ambitious and driven to achieve any goal she has set for her life. In 2016, she graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a degree in journalism and mass communications. She was determined to secure a position in public relations but as most young alumni, she soon realized that the workforce is highly competitive and requires more out of a recent graduate.

“When I first started looking for a position, I realized there were not a lot of entry-level positions for public relations professionals in North Carolina So I decided to take a leap of faith and I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, without a job,” said Young.

When Young moved to Florida, she secured a position as a marketing assistant for a training company. The position was challenging at times and taught her a lot, but her time at the company didn’t last long due to being laid off.

“Growing up with a single mother, who was also an entrepreneur, I learned how to be adaptable to any situation that I am in. When I was laid off, I knew I had to keep moving forward and continue to seek the best opportunities possible for my career,” she said.

Young moved back to Greensboro and decided to pursue a master’s degree in human resources from N.C. A&T and she also launched a YouTube channel that covered topics about life after college.

“While I was at A&T, during my undergrad years, I always helped people with their resumes and cover letters,” said Young. “I believe human resources was a good decision for me because I love knowing that I play a key role in helping people secure employment.”

Then one day everything changed. Young received an email from Twitter about a summer internship she had applied for while in graduate school.

“The opportunity was too good to be true, but I knew it was something I had to pursue and I was so glad I was able to be chosen for this amazing opportunity at Twitter,” she said.

Young’s role at Twitter is an executive office intern to the Office of the CEO and the Learning and Development team. She is responsible for revamping Twitter’s recruiting video series, which includes discovering and interviewing participants, and directing the shoots. In addition, she is responsible for assisting with management trainings and improving current job ladders, and expanding new program initiatives for minority groups at the headquarters.

“I love the diversity, the flexibility and the work culture at Twitter. Every day I am meeting someone new from different places and backgrounds,” said Young. “It definitely has a modern and comfortable feel for a workplace.”

Young’s internship is a 12-week program and will end Aug. 31.

“Since I’ve started working in Silicon Valley, I have learned very quickly that large companies like Twitter are hungry for diversity. I would encourage A&T students to go after the ‘big internships’ because you’ll never know when the door will open for you,” she said.

In the future, Young plans to complete her master’s degree at A&T and move to a large metro city.