Meet Gloria: A Providence College Marketing Student Learning AEO and SEO at Develomark

Gloria is a rising senior at Providence College studying marketing, and she came into Develomark's cohort program expecting to spend her time creating social media content. Instead, she found herself learning Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — two disciplines she says have changed how she thinks about digital marketing entirely. Watch her share the experience in her own words below.

1. From West Haven to Providence College

Gloria is from West Haven, Connecticut, and is currently a rising senior at Providence College, where she is majoring in marketing. Like many marketing students, she came to her internship search hoping to build practical, real-world experience to go along with her coursework — the kind of experience that's hard to get from a classroom alone.

2. Learning AEO and SEO for the First Time

Before joining Develomark, Gloria assumed digital marketing meant creating content for social media — a skill she already had some experience with. What she didn't expect was how much there was to learn about Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

In her own words, she "did not know that much" about AEO and SEO going in, beyond using tools like ChatGPT on a basic level. Learning directly from Develomark founder Ruan Marinho gave her a much deeper understanding of what AEO and SEO actually do for companies — how businesses can be structured to show up not just in traditional search results, but in the answers generated by AI tools.

3. Real Client Work with Nature's Harvest Mulch

One of Gloria's first hands-on projects was writing a series of blog posts for Nature's Harvest Mulch. After meeting with the client directly, she got to work building out the first blog content for their website — content covering topics like compost and mulch that she hadn't worked with before. She described the experience as "really cool," both for the chance to learn a new subject area and for the opportunity to create content from the ground up for a real business.

4. What's Next: Count Junkula and Davida

With her first project underway, Gloria is already looking ahead to her next assignments: additional blog content for Count Junkula, along with more work for Davida. Building a pipeline of ongoing client work across different industries is part of how Develomark's cohort program keeps interns engaged and growing throughout their time with the agency.

5. Learning How to Navigate Client Meetings

Beyond the technical side of AEO and SEO, Gloria said one of her biggest takeaways has been learning how to conduct herself in client meetings — something she had never experienced before joining Develomark. She described the process in three parts: preparing beforehand by learning about the company, staying flexible during the meeting itself since questions can come up unexpectedly, and following up afterward. She emphasized not letting the unpredictability of a live client conversation cause unnecessary stress, and instead treating it as part of the learning process.

Why It Matters

Gloria's experience reflects what Develomark's cohort program is built to do: give marketing students hands-on exposure to AEO, SEO, client communication, and content creation that goes beyond what most internships offer. For students studying marketing who want to understand how AI is reshaping search — and how to actually work with real clients — that kind of experience is hard to replicate in a classroom.

Interested in what a marketing career with real AEO and SEO experience looks like? Learn more about Develomark's careers and cohort program.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you're a student or recent grad who wants that kind of hands-on marketing experience, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out to Develomark to learn more about current openings and future cohort opportunities.