Salman Akhter

About

12,866 km from where I started, and still chasing a good story.

In Dhaka, a few friends and I started The Evening Brew Podcast as students with no studio and no budget. We turned an unused corner of my house into a set, cut every episode into 15 to 20 short reels, and I trained a volunteer team to edit them and type out Bangla captions by hand. Some reels got 200 views. Then one would hit 50,000. It taught me my first marketing lesson: when you can't outspend, you can outpublish.

I also designed brand visuals for Perth creator Sameer Scane, whose interview page now has 870K followers on Facebook and grew into his video agency, Scane Media. After an international marketing internship at Square Pharmaceuticals, I came to Illinois State University to study Marketing Analytics, so I can measure what makes a story work.

I'm a junior with my senior year still ahead, and I'm looking for marketing internships anywhere in the United States for summer 2027. After I graduate, I hope to do my postgraduate studies in Australia, to broaden my experience and learn how business is done there.

Quest log

Current quest Marketing internship, summer 2027 Open to roles anywhere in the United States
Objectives
- To do: Join a marketing team anywhere in the U.S. for summer 2027
- Done: Analytics toolkit ready: Google Analytics, Tableau, SPSS and Excel
- Done: Grew a podcast to 771.9K people reached on Facebook in 28 days
- Done: HubSpot Digital Marketing and Email Marketing certified
Reward A storyteller who measures what works, on your team
▶ Hire me for this quest
In progress B.S. in Marketing Analytics Illinois State University, graduating December 2027
Objectives
- Done: Dean's List, Fall 2025
- In progress: Junior year
- To do: Senior year
- To do: Graduate in December 2027
Reward A degree that pairs data with storytelling
Next level Postgraduate studies in Australia To broaden my experience and learn Australia's business culture
Objectives
- To do: Finish my B.S. in December 2027
- To do: Choose a postgraduate program in Australia
- To do: Learn how business is done there, firsthand
Reward A global view of marketing, from Dhaka to Illinois to Australia

Dhaka BangladeshWhere it started
Bloomington-Normal Illinois, USANow playing

12,866 km, or about 7,994 miles, as the crow flies.

Experience

Where I've put the work in.

Dec 2024 to now
Student Hiring Manager

Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois

Run student hiring for campus retail, dining and catering: interviews, onboarding, I-9s and background checks, schedule coordination, performance evaluations and orientations, working closely with dining supervisors and central hiring.
- Hiring
- Onboarding
- Operations
Mar 2024 to Dec 2024
Barista

Starbucks, Bone Student Center, Illinois State University

Kept orders moving through peak hours, handled special requests and problems with customers, and worked as one team across the register and the bar.
- Customer service
- Time management
- Teamwork
- On shift at the Starbucks in the Bone Student Center.
- Thumbs up from the Starbucks stockroom.
Jul 2023 to Sep 2023
International Marketing Intern

Square Pharmaceuticals PLC, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Coordinated product promotion, pricing and orders for international clients, analyzed market trends, ran product promotion training, and prepared regulatory documents for GMP audits and overseas dossier submissions.
- International marketing
- Market research
- Client relations
Oct 2020 to Feb 2022
Graphic Designer & Content Manager

Sameer Scane and Scane Media, Perth, Australia (remote)

Designed branding and visual content for creator Sameer Scane's page, now 870K followers on Facebook, and the clients it grew into as Scane Media. Edited and subtitled videos, and pitched ideas and presentations for campaigns.
- Brand identity
- Video editing
- Pitching
Aug 2020 to now
Founder, Host & Producer

The Evening Brew Podcast, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Host and produce 20+ episodes, from booking guests to recording, editing and publishing. Built a volunteer team of editors, captioners and studio crew, and grew the show through short-form reels to 100K+ viewers, with top content passing 1M views.
- Content strategy
- Video production
- Leadership

Education

Expected December 2027

Bachelor of Science in Marketing Analytics

Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois

Dean's List, Fall 2025.

Illinois State University website

2023 to 2026

Certifications

HubSpot Digital Marketing 2026
HubSpot Email Marketing 2025
Apple Search Ads 2024
IELTS 2023

Me on campus at Illinois State University.
State Farm Hall of Business, home of the College of Business.
The campus where I study and run student hiring for campus dining.

Work

Content and campaigns with a job to do.

1M+ Views on our top content

Podcast and short-form video

The Evening Brew Podcast

A student-run show built with no studio or budget. We cut each episode into 15 to 20 reels, captioned in Bangla by a volunteer team I trained. Our Season 4 premiere with creator Autanu Jobayer drew 376K views on Facebook.
870K Followers on Sameer Scane's page

Brand visuals for a creator

Sameer Scane and Scane Media

Branding and visual content for a Perth interview creator whose page grew into Scane Media, a video agency with 600+ shoots for clients across Australia.
- Sameer Scane
- Scane Media
Global Clients in overseas markets

International marketing

Square Pharmaceuticals

International marketing at Bangladesh's largest pharmaceutical manufacturer: promotion, pricing and order coordination for overseas clients, backed by market-trend analysis and regulatory paperwork for new markets.
- Website
- LinkedIn

With Sameer Scane and Scane Media

Sameer Scane with Jamal Bhuyan, captain of Bangladesh's national football team, on his show Scane Dalous.
Politician Bobby Hajjaj and his wife as guests on Scane Dalous.
With the Scane Media team in the office.

At Square Pharmaceuticals

Square's manufacturing plant in Kenya, part of its growth into overseas markets.
A Square Pharmaceuticals facility in Bangladesh.
Aerial view of a Square Pharmaceuticals manufacturing campus in Bangladesh.

Podcast

Inside The Evening Brew.

Season 4, Episode 1

With Autanu Jobayer

A Bangladeshi digital creator and VFX artist, and one of our most popular guests. I directed this intro montage for his episode and edited it in Premiere Pro.

Director and editor: Salman Akhter
Visual graphics: Irfan Helali
Color grading: Salman and Irfan
Filmed by: The Evening Brew crew