Duffy, who is beginning her junior year at George Washington University in Washington D.C., is a communications major with a minor in journalism.

She said she fell in love with marketing while taking journalism courses as well as a trip to GW Marketing Services in New York City at the beginning of her college career.

Her internship at the nonprofit Educate Maine in Portland focused on planning and promoting events for local interns. She said that about three-fourths of the events were professional, designed to create networking opportunities for those who attended.

“We ended up with 650 interns at events we planned for,” she said. “We also had paddle boarding and kayaking events. It was a way to see the fun side of Maine.”

Duffy used social media to promote at least 12 events. The staff at Educate Maine said she was an integral part to the team, going above and beyond expectations.

“We had an Instagram and I doubled its followers, and I created a challenge to get the interns involved in their programs,” she said. “There were three winners.”

When she found out about the WayUp top 100 intern list, she did not hesitate to apply.

“I was so excited,” she said. “Educate Maine enrolled in this program to be on the top 100 company list. There are two lists: top 100 companies and 100 interns.  I saw it, and I said, ‘Oh, I’ll apply.’ I think I ended up with 700 votes from friends and family in Maine.”

“It was 30 percent public vote and 70 percent application-based,” she added. “I was just hoping to make it on the 100 list, and I when I got number four, I got so excited. They partnered with Chegg, and I received all my textbooks for free this semester.”

Educate Maine was also thrilled about her achievement.

“All of us at Educate Maine are incredibly proud of Meredith for being recognized by WayUp as a top 2019 intern,” said Educate Maine Executive Director Jason Judd. “Meredith’s selection is well-deserved. She impressed us throughout her internship and was a huge asset to our team this summer. We can’t wait to see what is in store for Meredith’s future.”

Duffy graduated from Thornton Academy and said that she would love to return to Maine after college.

“After graduation I definitely want to work in marketing,” she said. “I think I will work in a big city — maybe New York, but when I start to think about having a family, I definitely want to come back to Maine. I had such a great experience here, and I want to give my children that.”

The passion she has for Maine flowed through the work she did this summer, which was part of the challenge of her internship.

“I think the hardest part was showing people the excitement around Maine,” she said. “I’m very passionate about living here, and I think our initiative was to show our passion for Maine. It was hard to convey because people see Maine as a state where people come up (for vacation) and then leave.”

She said that she was happy to have some experience working on her own.

“I definitely enjoyed my internship because it was hands-on and I like to work independently, and I think getting experience doing the things I learned about in school is so much more,” she said. “It’s totally different from classes — like, taking notes, listening to lectures and taking tests versus starting a social media campaign and working on real-world events.”

Duffy said she sees herself as a creative person, and she hopes to continue using that creativity through marketing in the future. Currently, she serves as vice president for her sorority’s recruitment department as well as the PR and marketing director for the GW Women in Business program.

She’s currently planning a New York City trip for the organization.

For fun, Duffy enjoys playing lacrosse, reading and writing. She said that even though she’s at a college that’s so far away from home, she’s loving the opportunities and experiences that have arisen.