My name is Nadia Ra’Shaun Williams, and I hale from the illustriously spicy city of Omaha, and I recently stepped into the position of Brand Strategy Coordinator at UNeTech (a Student Intern role). I will write for the UNeTech blog and partner with startup companies housed within our incubator to cultivate branding strategies.

Nadia Williams, Brand Strategy Coordinator at UNeTech Institute

First, I’d just like to point out how excited I am to have been awarded my first official Nebraska School System Student Internship. It is an incredible honor, and I look forward to growing as a designer, writer, and most importantly – an active listener.

When I am out of the office, I can be found in the theatre building at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where I am currently completing my third year of a Theatre Performance degree. I transferred to UNL last fall, after completing a gap year following an academic year studying Musical Theatre at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois.

Over the past few months, I have learned countless lessons in entrepreneurship and networking, first-hand, as I have recently launched a social media management company of my own, Innovation Media Management. With IMM, I partner with small businesses to boost their social media appearance and engagement. As an artist and lover of people, I am incredibly excited to combine the things I love in a professional capacity. It’s a special thing getting to create with others, even in a small way.

I am currently on track for a May 2022 graduation, meaning I have 13 months to prepare myself for the post-grad life. In an ideal world, I would immediately relocate to a major creative hub city (i.e., New York City, Los Angeles, or DC) following my graduation. In an ideal world, I know exactly what I plan to do career-wise. But, in this moment I haven’t quite figured that out just yet. What I do know, is that several years ago, I sat in a rehearsal studio with Broadway’s Quentin Earl Darrington. In that room he told us, “Our duty as artists is to help people and serve people.” I aspire to be an artist with purpose, on stage and off.

For now, I spend my days in my college classes. I teach theatre camps and dance classes at the Omaha Community Playhouse and The Rose. I perform on stage at The Union for Contemporary Art and BLUEBARN Theatre. And, as much as possible, I spend time trying to make genuine human connections. Interacting with people is my favorite pastime.

As a student, I am here and ready to learn from my new collogues, community partners, and you! In my time here at UNeTech, I plan not only to cover content about the basics of startups, but social media, design, and highlighting the fascinating work and research being done by the great people of the Nebraska College System.

That being said, I would also like to know what you would love to read about. Do you have suggestions for blog content you’d like covered? A community member you’d like interviewed? Or maybe you have a startup you’d like to spread the word about? Send me an email at nadwilliams@unmc.edu. I’d love to chat!