She prescreened episodes of the struggling business rescue reality show “The Profit.” She sat in the live audience of the money management show for investors, “Mad Money,” and afterward met host Jim Cramer. “I enjoyed being exposed to things I have never seen before and engaging in new experiences,” said Grimaldi, a rising junior studying marketing management.

Grimaldi spent the summer at the station in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where one of her tasks was to curate an internal newsletter for the marketing department. She also reviewed press screenings of episodes not yet premiered to extract quotes for promotions. She gathered clips and data to promote programming for popular shows such as “American Greed” and “Shark Tank.”

“My biggest challenge was time management and prioritization,” Grimaldi said.

But she gained a better grasp as the internship proceeded.

She conducted research with a digital marketing intern. The duo prepared a visual presentation about millennial media consumption habits and presented it to staff of the network’s marketing department, including its senior vice president.

Grimaldi, during her freshman and sophomore years, resided in the Innovate Living-Learning Community, an experiential learning and housing program operated by the Apex Systems Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Pamplin College of Business.

“Innovate has helped me grow and truly step out of my comfort zone when reaching out and speaking to those in higher positions,” Grimaldi said. “My networking skills improved during my time at CNBC, but Innovate really built that foundation of courage for me to reach out and network.”

She also learned how useful and applicable the content presented during her college courses is in the real world.

“Although I have learned most things on the job, this internship has shown me that the things I learn at school are extremely valuable and that I should not take any coursework presented to me at Virginia Tech for granted,” she said.

Grimaldi has long been a fan of CNBC programming. When she served on Innovate’s marketing committee during her freshman year, she launched a vigorous social media campaign to bring Marcus Lemonis, host of “The Profit,” to speak on campus.

Grimaldi made it happen by using Tilt, a crowdfunding platform, to raise more than $1,000 in one week. She also gained more than 200 Facebook followers in support of her cause.

Lemonis agreed to visit Blacksburg if the Hokies won a 2015 bowl game against Tulsa, which was sponsored by Camping World, the company of which he is CEO. Lemonis honored the commitment in April 2017.

Grimaldi celebrated her first successful marketing campaign, which ultimately helped her land the internship at CNBC.

Written by Courtney Cutright