A warm welcome to our WordPress and social media intern, Ivis Estrada

Our one-of-a-kind team is what makes the Dirigible vision work. That’s why we’re so excited to welcome Ivis Estrada on board our blimp as a WordPress and social media intern. With dreams that reach the clouds and skills that go above and beyond, there’s really nothing she can’t do!

Hi! Tell us about yourself.

I was raised in Waukegan, IL, but I spent the majority of my life in Kenosha, WI before moving to Madison. I’m going into my last year studying Journalism and Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Afterwards, I will take a gap year to get a taste of the strategic communication field before attending law school to study animal law, which will fulfill my passion for caring for animals.

What makes you excited to join the Dirigible team?

I’m excited to join such a creative and outgoing team that has such impressive experience and talent. Each team member has a passion for their skills at Dirigible, but they don’t stop there. It excites me to see a team so passionate not only in their professional work, but work outside of their jobs. I know I will learn a lot from everyone and can’t wait to see what will come!

Give us a window into your professional life so far. What are some of your most formative work gigs and experiences?

I’ve been a contributing writer for the lifestyle section of MODA Magazine at UW-Madison. Last year, for my journalism courses, I created a website to showcase an informative story about the digital divide in the US during the pandemic which also gave me my first experience in creating a short podcast where I interviewed researchers on the topic. Lately, I’m focusing more on the strategic communication aspects of my major and learning how to pitch strategies to agencies.

What kinds of creative work do you do outside of your employed work?

During my junior year in college, I got the opportunity to work for MODA Magazine in their lifestyle section, which inspired me to advance my writing skills and begin my own projects. I’m currently working on starting my own brand and blog website, with a focus on lifestyle and opinion pieces. On top of that, I’m currently dabbling in graphic designs and learning how to do more digital art through Photoshop and InDesign and trying my hand at creating digital magazine layouts.

Like many others, I also took up some hobbies during quarantine and am getting back into learning how to play the piano, although so far, I am limited to Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift songs. While I don’t think I’ll be a professional any time soon, it is nice to take a break and try advancing to Bruno Mars occasionally.

Any big life experiences other than the work-related ones that you’d like to tell us about?

While I’m deathly afraid of heights, I have taken the whim to zip-line before and enjoyed the experience, but probably won’t ever do it again. I’ve never flown on a plane, so my travels have been limited to where a road trip can take me. So far, my travel experiences consist of Mexico, Texas and Nevada! However, I’ve studied Norwegian for over a year in preparation of traveling to Norway one day!