When Olivia O’Donnell walked across the stage at commencement this spring, she left with more than she expected: a degree, a group of lifelong friends, and a full-time job she’d start the following week. Unlike some of her classmates, she hadn’t spent her final semester refreshing her inbox or sending out applications — she’d sorted that out months ago.
It came out of an internship with mainelove, a local startup, where she’d spent the better part of her senior year putting her communications degree to use. By the time May rolled around, they’d asked her to stay on full-time. She said yes.
From dental hygiene to communications: how Olivia found her footing at USM
Olivia’s path to the University of Southern Maine was a pretty straightforward one — or at least, it felt that way at the time. She’d grown up in Poland, Maine, and was the first in her family to go to college. When it came time to apply, USM checked all the boxes: close enough to home, affordable, and with access to a city she knew had a lot to offer.
“When it came to deciding what to study, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do,” she said. “Strangely enough, I always loved the dentist growing up. And I figured, if I enjoy it this much, it’s probably what I should be doing.”
She did a job shadow at her local practice, left feeling decided, and enrolled in USM’s health sciences program convinced she’d found her path. It didn’t last long.
A few weeks into her science classes, something felt off — she had the people skills, the patience, and a genuine interest in the work. What she didn’t have was a love for biology. She met with a professor to go through her options: to pursue dental hygiene, she’d need to complete a full health sciences degree first, and then apply to a separate program. It was a long road ahead for a destination she was already losing faith in.
That same semester, she was taking an intro to communications class — mostly out of curiosity. It clicked in a way that health sciences never had.
“I knew I liked working with people and creating an experience for them,” she said. “Maybe rather than giving someone a positive experience in a dental chair, it was giving them a great experience at an event or with a company.”
Communications felt almost obvious in retrospect — she loved learning the mechanics of it, the psychology behind why people respond to things the way they do. The professors validated her excitement.
“It was nice to get an A on work I was actually enjoying,” she said.
By the end of the semester, she’d switched her major.
The program that opened doors she didn’t know were there
Olivia had known about the Career Hub’s Career Exploration Internship Program (CEIP) since her first day at USM. It came up at freshman orientation, and she’d filed it away in the back of her mind, telling herself she’d come back to it once she found her footing. By junior year, she was watching friends go through the program and land real experience at organizations she’d known her whole life. By senior year, she was ready.
Through CEIP, which connects USM students with paid internships across a wide range of local organizations, Olivia landed an internship in fall 2025 with Sweetser — a behavioral health nonprofit serving communities across Maine. While there, she worked in their public relations and development office, putting her communications background to use in a real-world setting.
“What’s really amazing about CEIP is that it’s a paid internship opportunity — you don’t have to freak out scrolling through a thousand different postings on Indeed. These are laid out for you.”
Olivia O’Donnell ’26
Beyond the internship, Olivia leaned into everything the Career Hub had to offer: resume workshops, cover letter help, practice interviews. She worked with Career Hub staff and graduate advisors who became a steady resource throughout the process.
Sweetser, meanwhile, was teaching her things she hadn’t expected. She went out into the community for events, learned to talk up a brand organically, and picked up technical skills in Adobe design along the way. Her biggest takeaway, though, was more personal.
“I knew I liked working with people and creating an experience for them,” she said. “Maybe rather than giving s“I learned that I really need to have initiative about what I want,” she said. “There were opportunities I think I missed because I wasn’t vocal enough about my interests.”
She loved the experience — and when spring semester rolled around, she started wondering what else was out there.
A local startup, a blank slate, and a role she made her own
For her second CEIP internship, Olivia knew she wanted something different. Sweetser had given her a solid foundation in nonprofit communications — organizing community events, PR basics, some design introductions — but she wanted to explore the for-profit industry. When an internship with mainelove, a Westbrook-based canned water brand, came up as an option, it stood out immediately. She applied, went through two rounds of interviews, and got it.
Olivia was their first social media and marketing intern — there was no blueprint, no established role to slot into. The work was wide open: some days that meant developing social media strategy or conducting an industry audit, others, it meant helping out in the warehouse.
“My first three months were such a whirlwind,” she said. “But I kind of liked going in and not knowing what the day would hold — being able to move around, do different things. It was fun.”
Olivia hit a turning point midway through the semester: her supervisor was away, and she was left to manage a mainelove pop-up event on her own — setting it up, working with the venue, and making sure everything ran smoothly. When she pulled it off, earning praise from her supervisor, something clicked. For the first time, she felt like she wasn’t just keeping up — she was coming into her own.
“I started to feel like I could actually be helpful — that was really validating,” she said.
By the end of the semester, she had started to feel less like an intern and more like a core member of the team.
From intern to field marketing coordinator: how Olivia made her case
Olivia started to feel something shift at mainelove. Her supervisors started to include her in plans and projects that extended well past her internship end date, looping her into things that felt less like intern work and more like permanent role responsibilities. At first, she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“I’ve had so many friends lose out on opportunities because they weren’t willing to advocate for themselves. And I wasn’t about to let that happen to me,” she said. “I had to put my big girl pants on, and go to them.”
She approached her supervisor and asked directly: was there a place for her on the team full-time? The answer came back quickly — yes. The company’s CEO confirmed it shortly after: Olivia was a great addition, and they wanted her to stay.
“I really liked the idea of job security after graduation,” she said. “Even if this isn’t forever, I know I will learn and grow so much here.”
She graduated from USM in May as mainelove’s field marketing coordinator. The transition had already been underway for weeks — less a formal handoff than a natural evolution. Where she’d once leaned on her supervisor’s guidance for what to do next, she now has her own routine: morning emails, events lists to work through, meetings to lead. She collaborates with the sales team, helps field partnership inquiries, and gets a say in the things that matter.
What the last four years built — and where it’s taking her
Olivia is staying in Maine. She has a job she’s already started, a strong community built over the last four years, and a Career Hub she knows she can still lean on as an alum. Ask her what made the difference, and she doesn’t hesitate.
“The connections,” she said. “And community. I don’t think I could have beaten my experience anywhere else for the price tag.”
Watching friends navigate a competitive post-grad job market, she doesn’t take any of it for granted — she knows it came from consistently showing up, saying yes, and advocating for herself.
Four years after she first learned about CEIP at her freshman orientation, Olivia has advice for the students who are still on the fence.
“What do you have to lose?” she said. “Even just sitting down with a career advisor for 15 minutes — you can walk away knowing exactly where to go next, who to talk to, and what to look for. It will never be a waste of your time.”
