Haley Karinja
Social Media Strategist | Content Creator
Madison Square Garden Entertainment
Rockettes Digital Content Student Associate
October 2023 - April 2025
As the Digital Content Student Associate for the Rockettes at Madison Square Garden, I spent two business seasons collaborating with the Rockettes' Social Media Team to bring the legacy and talent of the Rockettes to life on social media. From behind-the-scenes content and influencer activations, to viral TikToks and celebrity collaborations, I contributed to content that celebrated dance precision, women’s empowerment, and sisterhood. Through trend forecasting, data analysis, and creative brainstorming, I helped craft digital content that reached over 5 million followers across the Rockettes’ accounts.
2/17/21
In December 2024, Fordham University featured my internship experience. This article retells the story of how seeing the Rockettes as a young girl first inspired me to move to New York City, and how getting to work with the Rockettes years later became a full-circle moment. It was an honor to help showcase their legacy through social media. Along the way, I sharpened my skills in content creation, influencer marketing, and cross-functional collaboration, lessons I’ll carry with me into every role moving forward.
What I Did in This Role:
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Collaborated with the Rockettes' social media team to brainstorm, create, edit, and post content across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Threads, and X, aligning with brand values of dance precision, women empowerment, and sisterhood, while engaging an audience of 5M+
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Contributed to the execution of 10+ high-profile celebrity collaborations, including the Backstreet Boys, Jordan Chiles, Jennifer Garner, and Meghan Trainor, to expand reach across new audiences
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Sourced and collaborated with influencers for Christmas season events, providing content ideas, filming behind-the-scenes footage, managing creator relationships, and tracking post-event engagement
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Curated weekly updates on pop culture, dance media, and social trends to identify opportunities for the Rockettes to participate in relevant conversations and boost brand visibility
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Analyzed engagement across platforms using Sprout Social and Tableau to make data-informed content strategy recommendations
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Provided weekly updates to the broader team on platform changes and new features to stay ahead in a fast-paced digital landscape
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Led idea development, posting, and engagement for @RadioCityMusicHall during the Christmas season takeover, ensuring alignment with both the Rockettes’ and Radio City’s social voice
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Monitored comments, engaged with fans, and reported spam to foster a positive and interactive community on Rockettes' social channels
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Tracked and repurposed user-generated content from Rockettes dancers by monitoring personal accounts, securing assets through talent management, and integrating content into official brand strategy
Trend Research
Each week, I put together a "hot list" for the Digital Content team, which was a list of trending TikTok sounds, viral pop culture moments, dance industry updates, seasonal content, potential influencer collaborations, and posts we could engage with to build a community in a fun, on brand way. These insights helped shape our content strategy by connecting brand goals with what audiences were already talking about, and they gave the team a starting point to build culturally relevant content in a timely manner.
Event Coverage: Auditions
During Rockettes Auditions Week, I worked closely with the digital content team to support real-time coverage across Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Facebook, and X. I helped capture behind-the-scenes moments that highlighted the energy and emotion of the audition process, contributed to editing and posting across platforms, and took the lead on organizing user-generated content shared by fans and aspiring Rockettes. We published [insert #] posts throughout the week, showcasing the brand’s legacy while celebrating new talent. I also supported community engagement by closely monitoring comments and messages to help foster a positive and encouraging online space.
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To the right is a video I captured outside of Radio City Music Hall, as Rockette hopefuls lined up to audition. I saw an authentic moment, the girls getting excited to showcase their talents, and I captured it to show our fans on social.
Dress Rehearsal Coverage
During rehearsals, I assisted the Digital Content team to capture a wide range of footage that could be used across the Rockette platforms. Since the content wasn’t going out in real time, the focus was on getting strong, versatile shots that could support future content. I helped film from multiple angles and identified creative ways to reuse clips, making sure everything we captured had long-term value.
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To the right is an example of one of the clips I captured. This clip was posted to celebrate New Year's Day. It reached X views across platforms.
Influencer Event
For the Rockettes’ influencer event, I supported influencer collaborations by helping source creators. On event day, I worked directly with influencers on-site, capturing behind-the-scenes footage, assisting with filming, and ensuring they had what they needed to create engaging, on-brand content. After the events, I monitored their posts, tracked engagement, and helped evaluate overall performance and success to inform future strategy.
Cross Team Collaboration
One of the most valuable parts of the Student Associate Program was the opportunity to collaborate with teams across both sports and entertainment. These experiences gave me a broader understanding of how different departments contribute to MSG goals and allowed me to gain skills through hands on experiences.
Live Digital Content
I worked with the Live Digital Content team, which manages the venue accounts like @TheGarden and @RadioCityMusicHall. I captured and posted real-time content from events including the Dog Show to offer a behind-the-scenes look that brought the in venue experience to our social audiences. I also supported the team on a Paw Patrol promotional shoot by filming and assisting with onsite logistics. In many Rockette digital content shoots, I captured behind-the-scenes content that worked for the venue branded voice.
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During the Christmas season, I led idea development, posting, and engagement for @RadioCityMusicHall, ensuring alignment with both the Rockettes’ and Radio City’s social voices.
Garden of Dreams Foundation
Through MSG’s Garden of Dreams Foundation, I had the chance to support two impactful events: the Tennis Benefit and the annual Talent Show. At the tennis event, I escorted children throughout the evening, and at the Talent Show, I guided a youth dance group from rehearsals to hair and makeup to their big moment on stage. I also supported front-of-house logistics during the performance.
Consumer Insights
In partnership with the Consumer Insights team, I conducted fan intercepts during two Knicks games and two Rangers games at the Garden. I interviewed 50+ fans to gather feedback on their experience and fandom. After collecting the data, I identified key patterns and built a visually compelling presentation deck to communicate those insights clearly and effectively back to the team.
People Acquisition and HR
I also worked with the HR team to support internal data cleanup and record updates, gaining hands-on experience in Excel and database management. Additionally, I had the chance to speak on behalf of the Student Associate Program at a Fordham campus recruiting event, which was a full-circle moment for me as a former attendee just two years prior.​​