I'm a Google intern and TikTok influencer who's living with my parents in Texas for the summer — here's what my days are like

Anika NayakJul 17, 2020, 23:11 IST

Like many other college students this summer, Angelica Song is doing her internship virtually.Angelica Song

Angelica Song is a rising college senior at UC Berkeley who landed a coveted summer internship at Google earlier this year, as part of the company's US consumer payments marketing team.
Due to the pandemic, she's doing her internship virtually while sheltering in place with her family in Austin, Texas.
Internship perks have included livestreams with celebrities, a virtual magic show, digital DJ sets, a bartending class, and industry talks with Google's C-suite executives.
Also an avid content creator on TikTok, Song recently launched her own brand, urCollegeSis, which is a resource for college, work, and life advice for Gen Zers.
Her days are spent working with other Googlers, attending virtual talks and Q&As, filming and editing TikTok videos, and cooking and enjoying time with her family.

Angelica Song is an incoming senior at UC Berkeley studying business administration. When the college switched to remote instruction in mid-March because of the pandemic, Song went home to shelter in place with her family in Austin, Texas.

On June 1, she started her virtual summer internship as an associate product marketing intern at Google. On top of her internship, Song also creates TikTok videos for 113,000 followers and is launching her own brand that offers guidance on all things college and building new careers.

Here's a look into how Song is spending her days during the pandemic.

Although she's not a morning person, Song likes to wake up early to be more productive.

Song makes it a daily ritual to write in her bullet journal to stay organized. Angelica Song

She catches up on the news and social media, and writes down a mix of work duties and important meetings for the day in her bullet journal.

"I really enjoy journaling in the morning to brain dump everything that's on my mind. I'll write anything down from work tasks to my personal errands," Song told Business Insider.

She catches up on the news and social media, and writes down a mix of work duties and important meetings for the day in her bullet journal.

I really enjoy journaling in the morning to brain dump everything that's on my mind. I'll write anything down from work tasks to my personal errands, Song told Business Insider.

At 10 a.m., the Google internship starts, and she begins remote meetings with her manager and team members.

Song with her Google gear in her home office. Angelica Song

At Google, Song is on a team of eight Googlers on the US consumer payments marketing team, but also works with a larger team of over 40 people in cross-functional roles. As a product marketing intern, she works on projects in consumer research and market strategy.

"When people think of 'intern,' they might think of the stereotypical coffee- and donut-fetching intern. But, at Google, they trust their interns with important projects and responsibilities. Google and my team have given me lots of things to lead and take initiative on. I've been learning a lot from working and collaborating with extremely talented individuals. Because of my personal experience as a content creator, it's also been amazing to contribute and consult on social media marketing projects," said Song.

When people think of 'intern,' they might think of the stereotypical coffee- and donut-fetching intern. But, at Google, they trust their interns with important projects and responsibilities. Google and my team have given me lots of things to lead and take initiative on. I've been learning a lot from working and collaborating with extremely talented individuals. Because of my personal experience as a content creator, it's also been amazing to contribute and consult on social media marketing projects, said Song.

A big part of Google's culture is having cool perks and events for their employees.

Song attends a virtual yoga class sponsored by her Google internship. Angelica Song

Although employees can't currently experience the free food and fancy gym in person, the company has been hosting plenty of virtual events including livestreams with celebrities, cooking and bartending lessons, magic shows, yoga classes, mental health sessions, and more.

So far, she's attended HIIT workout classes, a magic show, a digital DJ set, a celebrity Q&A with a singer and actress, a bartending class, and industry expert talks with senior and C-suite executives at Google.

One recent talk was with Google's chief internet evangelist, Vinton Cerf, who discussed his work with internet architecture, internet evangelism, and product accessibility. She also participated in an interactive Q&A chat with Google's CMO, Lorraine Twohill.

Song said Google is doing a lot to give interns a sense of the company culture, even at home.

"They sent us a really awesome swag box with a backpack, cool stickers, and the famous Google Intern hat," she told Business Insider.

Song said Google is doing a lot to give interns a sense of the company culture, even at home.

They sent us a really awesome swag box with a backpack, cool stickers, and the famous Google Intern hat, she told Business Insider.

In the afternoon, Song takes a break to film TikToks.

With over 113,000 followers on TikTok, Song tries to film new videos every day. Angelica Song

She started making TikToks for fun in November 2019. After making a variety of dance to comedy, she noticed there was an even bigger need for lifestyle and college content among users in the space, and decided to curate this niche and started growing her account in January 2020, and became inspired to publish content on other platforms as well, like YouTube and Instagram.

During the pandemic, she has been filming TikToks almost every day. As of July 13, she had over 113,000 followers and 3.3 million likes.

"I always tell people, 'It's never too late to start building a professional social media presence. It's just like starting a business — building a brand, picking a niche, bringing unique value. I know it's terrifying at first, but quickly you'll get the hang of it,'" Song said.

"The key to growing my audience was being consistent and always trying new things. I'd also recommend people to become a heavy consumer of the platform they want to be on. You'll be able to learn the trends, and see what works and what doesn't."

Although TikToks videos are only 15 seconds to one minute long, Song said she spends anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours filming, editing, and uploading each new TikTok.

During the pandemic, she has been filming TikToks almost every day. As of July 13, she had over 113,000 followers and 3.3 million likes.

I always tell people, 'It's never too late to start building a professional social media presence. It's just like starting a business — building a brand, picking a niche, bringing unique value. I know it's terrifying at first, but quickly you'll get the hang of it,' Song said.

The key to growing my audience was being consistent and always trying new things. I'd also recommend people to become a heavy consumer of the platform they want to be on. You'll be able to learn the trends, and see what works and what doesn't.

Although TikToks videos are only 15 seconds to one minute long, Song said she spends anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours filming, editing, and uploading each new TikTok.

After work and dinner, she spends time creating content for her social media accounts.

Song recently launched a new brand for Gen Z college students. Angelica Song

During her junior year of college, Song says she saw a gap in the market for a space and community for Gen Z students and young adults developing professional skills and personal growth. Inspired by the #girlboss movement by Sophia Amoruso, she wanted to create something for younger audiences, ages 13 to 22. She's currently working to develop the #urCollegeSis hashtag created on TikTok into a virtual community and extension of her personal lifestyle accounts.

Her goal is to make urCollegeSis into a movement to empower the next generation of inclusive, thoughtful leaders. On top of the free resources and tips on her social pages, Song offers her services for college consulting, and plans to expand even more with workshops, virtual events, and a podcast.

Song uses her time before work, her lunch break, and her evenings to spend time with her parents and her younger brother, who is also home from college.

A morning walk with her parents Angelica Song

She and her parents — who own a small poke restaurant in Austin that has stayed open during the pandemic for takeout only — use the morning as an opportunity to exercise together by taking a bike ride or a walk through their neighborhood. Around midday, she and her brother cook lunch together, usually something healthy like a salmon dish with veggies or chickpea pasta.

"It's really important to me that I create a healthy balance in my physical and mental health. I spend a couple hours before bed each night to decompress and self-care before the new day starts again," said Song.

She's also FaceTiming regularly and attending virtual movies nights, game nights, and cocktail hours to stay socially connected to friends.

Song said she's been able to balance everything due to the extra free time she's had during the pandemic.

Her social media presence might not have taken off during a normal spring semester of college, she told Business Insider, because she would have been much busier with school on campus.

For others who might be hoping to land an internship this summer or fall, Song has one main piece of advice: "Find hobbies and interests that speak to you. This was really important when applying to my role at Google."

It's really important to me that I create a healthy balance in my physical and mental health. I spend a couple hours before bed each night to decompress and self-care before the new day starts again, said Song.