Spending an entire week in New York might extract you from your day-to-day life. I forgot about school, and I dove into a week of insights and inspiration that prepped me for my next adventure. If you plan on immersing yourself in the environment, go head first! You might jump on the L train when you meant to take the M. You might spend $25 on a bowl of pasta that you think about for the three days following. You might be entertained on Broadway street with a live breakdancing performance. Understand where you are, and visualize yourself on any Tuesday morning work commute. This could be the place you spend your 20′s exercising your passion or developing a brand new one.
-Salem Weresh
Finding a hole and filling it.
This was the single most important piece of career advice that I got this week. By making yourself as useful as possible, you will succeed in your work. Our program develops graduates that have many talents and can wear many different hats and fulfill different roles. As people are worried about finding internships, think about other ways of getting into the industry.
Tim Vandehey
05.15.18
What an amazing experience. For those students who find themselves stretched between specializations, good luck landing a favorite on this trip! At Rokkan, we met with a very influential man, Matt García Chief Client Officer. As a strategist I listened intently to his advice on handling clients. What I found was a deep respect for account managers and their ability to keep each person’s role in mind. The secret? Always remain attentive to how people work, and keep them comfortable. Matt’s ability to give our group honest, precise advice on the struggles and expectations his role holds kept my attention and I left Rokkan with a desire to decide between strategy and account management. His ending remark? Everyone should have a grasp on every skill an agency holds. It’s not just your expertise, but your ability to pitch in wherever you can.
-Salem Weresh
Everything in New York happens so quickly, you have to stay on top of your shit in order to make progress.
Managing the subway schedule. How much time it takes to walk somewhere. Homework. Interviews. Sleep. Free times.
Tim Vandehey
05.15.18
Client-Side Opportunities
I never really thought about working at a place other than an ad agency. I thought it would get stale and become a thing that I would grow to dislike over time. But when we went to Spotify, that changed my mind completely. The amount of versatility the Spotify IP brings is enormous. They have over 8 petabytes worth of data already cultivated, and they could use all of the info to create some amazing things such as giving B2B insights for artists, giving users the end of year events, and other great services for their users. I think it would be just an amazing opportunity to work with this brand, and they completely changed my mind on client-side work.
Amar Mann
NY
During my trip to NY I was able to visit some tremendous/passionate agencies; one specifically that struck me for their work was JWT, “We are not an Ad agency” headlining their initiative. We aren’t allowed to comment on their work they showed us, because much of it is still in the process, but I can tell you they are looking at the “future.” There is no doubt in my mind that they are creating stuff that will impact peoples’ way of living and that’s a place I see myself.
-Alex Chaparro
Community. It is quite amazing to see the community that is built through the SOJC program. It made me ecstatic to see people from Flock, or alumni meetings together who were willing to dish out wisdom, and help anyone who asked. I’ve always seen the community within Allen hall, but it’s great to see it outside in the real world. I hope our passion drives us to be successful and keep us together with the years to come.
-Alex Chaparro
This week’s long trip gave us all the opportunity to visit many different agencies, particularly to see where we all fit in the equation. Many mentions their accomplishments, and others mentioned their culture and diversity. Having a wide variety of cultures present is such an important attribute that makes an agency run smoothly, with various opinions and upbringings to build upon. The agency i found most impressive when mentioning the word “diversity” was Saatchi. They are immensely large but take pride particularly on their lack of gender bias, with more than 60/70 percent female leaders. They lived the agency lifestyle everyone else preached, but might not followed. (#goodshitsaatchi)
-Alex Chaparro
The Big Move
New York is a city of opportunity and adventure that is a beacon for dream seekers to reach out and follow their destiny. I feel that I have a calling to be there even when the odds could be against me. No I do not have a internship or job but that adds to the excitement and adventure. I have prepared the past four years for this moment, now that New York is calling me it is up to me to do the hustle.
In 1910 my Great-Grandfather moved from Bologna, Italy to New York City and came through Ellis Island. He had nothing besides a dream for a better life and wanted to search for adventure. Over 100 years later and three generations, I hope to move to the same city, in the hope to find opportunity and adventure as he did. Though it might not be easy, I believe I have the perseverance and courage to follow my dreams.
In the words of Frank Sinatra “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”
-Jordan Romania
NY
The past week was a wakeup call to the reality that awaits us all. From the inspiring presentations at agencies to the conversations with random individuals on the subway. There’s something impactful to be taken from any conversation no matter how large or small. The second we arrived in New York, I was able to feel the energy of everyone who was working their butts off to do great in whatever field they were in. New York was scary, yet very inspiring regarding the idea of getting my shit done, because someone else will, and currently is, working harder to achieve their future goals.
-Alex Chaparro