MIT School of Architecture + Planning Co-Op
Communication Coordinator · Jan–June 2025
I spent the first half of 2025 as the Communication Coordinator at MIT's School of Architecture and Planning — the place where the people designing the future of cities, buildings, and technology actually do their thing. My job was to take that work, which can get dense and academic fast, and turn it into something people outside the building would actually want to watch, read, and share.
Descriptions:
What I did
I produced and edited video content, wrote and ran the school's newsletter, and made content that translated research and student work into stories real people could connect with. A lot of the job was being the bridge — sitting between brilliant researchers and a general audience, and figuring out how to make the brilliant part land without losing anyone along the way.
The work spanned the whole range: scripting and editing video, building newsletter content from the ground up, and producing pieces that balanced MIT's institutional voice with something that felt human and alive.
Accomplishments:
The Numbers
The video work pulled in 140,000+ views across three videos — not bad for content about architecture and urban planning. The newsletter, FIVE, became a consistent way the school stayed connected to its community.
But honestly, the number I'm proudest of isn't a view count. It's that people who had no reason to care about a planning lecture ended up watching the whole thing. That's the part that's hard to measure and the part I actually care about.
Lessons Learned
What I took from it
MIT taught me how to communicate about complex, serious work without dumbing it down or drying it out. Academic communications has a specific challenge: the work is genuinely important, but importance doesn't automatically make something watchable. You have to earn the attention. That skill — respecting both the material and the audience at the same time — is something I've carried into everything since.
Hard Skills
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Video production — filming, lighting, and on-set setup
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Video editing and post-production — Adobe Premiere Pro, CapCut
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Photo editing and color grading — Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop
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B-roll capture and integration
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Incorporating mixed and existing footage into a cohesive final cut
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Interview production — writing questions, conducting interviews on camera
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Storytelling and narrative structure for video
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Graphic design and content creation — Canva
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Newsletter and email production — Mailchimp (FIVE)
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Content writing for an academic audience
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Translating research and technical work into public-facing stories
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Social and digital content production
Soft Skills
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Communication across different stakeholders — directors, faculty, students
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Directing and coordinating people on set
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Collaboration and working with contributor-provided material
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Project management across long timelines
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Adaptability and resourcefulness with imperfect or limited resources
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Patience and persistence (especially on early, time-intensive projects)
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Attention to detail
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Self-direction — owning projects end to end with minimal oversight