Josh Aaron

While I was working for Wrightsville Beach, I learned the inner workings of how a local government functions and gained skills in the field of communications. These skills include:

• Developed and distributed digital and print content for diverse audiences.
• Strengthened writing, design, and project management capabilities.
• Acquired knowledge of best practices in social media relations and public outreach.
• Gained experience with tools such as Canva, Constant Contact, Hootsuite, and CivicPlus.
• Enhanced teamwork and transparent communication skills through supervisor guidance.
• Coordinated with staff to create public-facing messages for community initiatives.

Designed and conducted a community-based participatory research study in partnership with WilmingtoNColor, examining the impact of black heritage tourism on participants levels of place attachment and likelihood for civic engagement. Skills gained from this experience include:

• Research and analytical skills
• Community engagement in a public sociology foundation
• Evaluation and impact assessment
• Communication and collaboration
• Project and time management

Over the past three summers I have worked at a wilderness back-packing camp, Colvig Silver Camps, based out of Durango, Colorado. During my summers while working there, I lived in a cabin with 4-6 campers. My duties included:

• Responsible for the physical safety and emotional well-being of the campers in my care.
• Directed daily in-camp activities and led 3-5 day wilderness trips.
• Organized logistics and fostered collaboration and resilience among campers.
• Engaged campers in learning life skills in a fun and safe manner while teaching wilderness survival skills.
• Lead campers and staff to carry out trip objectives in high stakes situations

• As a Restaurant team member at Mess Hall, I performed both front-of-house and back-of-house duties to ensure efficient daily operations and high-quality customer experiences.
• For back-of-house, I prepared and organized ingredients, maintained cleanliness standards, and collaborated with kitchen staff to deliver menu items accurately and on time.
• In my front-of-house role, I greeted and engaged with guests, took orders, and provided responsive and friendly service in a fast-paced environment.
• I also worked the bar part of our restaurant which serves alcoholic beverages and cocktails.

• Served catered events by refilling drinks, taking plates away, and running food from the kitchen and making sure the guests were satisfied.
• Collaborated with fellow staff and manager to set up the chairs, tables, and food stations.
• Collaborated with Chef and Line Cooks to help with food preparation.