NY Life lessons

1.      Know how to tell your story- know your strengths, your POV and what your life experience and skill set bring to the table. Then learn how to tell this story to others in a short and compelling way. This is one of the keys to marketing yourself to get to where you want to be.

2.      Just try things to see what you like/ don’t like- random in this industry usually works in that taking on the jobs or projects that may not be your ideal thing can actually give you great life lessons and skills even if it is just to show you what you don’t like.

3.      Be willing to do everything- never think anything is below you. If you can show that you are a person willing to do the grunt work and the tasks others don’t want to, you prove your worth and drive without saying anything.

4.      Create client ready work- even if you know that your work is going to just go to a supervisor before it gets sent to the client make the work as spotless as possible and double check the little things. This makes higher up coworkers’ lives easier and shows your quality of work.

5.      Never study advertising (it’s not interesting)- bring your outside skills and cultural knowledge into advertising because that is how you create powerful work. The person who only knows advertising will never create moving cultural work.

-Olivia A

Introverted Networking

Unlike many of my crazy amazing and confident peers, I do not enjoy the networking scene and am a total mess at it. Even when I am a huge fan of the person in question and just want them to know that I think they are fantastic humans, I quickly lose all sense of confidence and ability to string words together when it finally hits my turn to speak to them. It really is an awful fish-on-dry-land type of scene that I’m glad only a few have had to witness. Unfortunately networking and building a support system is incredibly important for trying to start a career and not being able to tell someone they are lit as shit just seems like a waste as well. Knowing this, I went into this trip with the mission to get better at it and, for better or worse, put myself out there and see what could happen. Thank god this experiment went better than planned and I am (slowly) starting to understand how to connect with strangers that inspire me. This is largely due the unbelievably generous professionals that I met on this trip. I got to meet people that were not only willing to talk to me through my rough starts to conversations but who legitimately took an interest in me as an individual and tried to help me out with more networking points of contact and personal advice. Being a very introverted person and the first college grad now having to navigate the corporate world in a completely different way than my family has, this kindness and support meant everything. I’m not only getting the confidence to send out thank you cards and connecting over social networks but I now have a piece of comfort in these situations (and myself) that I never had before.

- Olivia A

Debunking NYC

Coming into this trip, I looked at this week-long experience as something that would hopefully help me figure out where I fit in the ad world. This trip, however, was a special type of surprise, the kind that hits you out of left field and makes you open your eyes to possibilities you didn’t believe were possible. New York City not only gave me incredible insight to what I want to do but showed me the place I believe I want to do great things in. From the kindness of the people, the vibrant honesty of the culture, and the limitlessness of different humans you could meet and adventures that called around every corner, I somehow fell in love with New York (a city that I thought I wouldn’t be able to exist in). That in itself is a crazy kind of wonderful surprise.

-Olivia A

A few all nighters and a million cups of coffee

Well, well, well, NYC. You really got my work cut out for me. A website, a coloring book, headshots, 16 boxes of crayons, posters, crayon color assignments, 119 signatures, a Spotify playlist, an Instagram design, the list goes on. Preparing for this trip was a test of my endurance and investment and I couldn’t be more thankful. It may have been a lot of work, but I’ve come out on the other side a changed woman. 

Yes, this trip was a lot of work for me, but it was a lot of work for everyone. This trip is a collection of advertising’s best and brightest and it couldn’t be more evident in the days leading up to Creative Week. For my first post, I want to emphasize the importance of having a great team and how it’s equally as important to show your gratitude to everyone who has helped you along the way. 

After the first class, there were lines of students waiting to offer their helping hands on any part of this project. We had so many teams of people working on so many different moving parts to make sure the show went on. Thank God for project managers, am I right?

I am beyond grateful for every single person that helped prepare for NYC. Whether it was illustrating a coloring page, or just reminding me to breathe, each of you made a difference to this trip and opened doors for us and for ducks in the future. 

Find your team. Work hard. Be grateful. 

Peace.

Madi Nauta

Droga5

Droga5 was a very memorable visit for me. The people that were brought in were all extremely warm and receptive to us being there. They brought insight into the process and creation of their brands and forces that push them forward. Droga5 was a big standout because of the diversity within the workplace. Six female professionals ranging from creatives, strategy, and account were brought in to speak with us and you could feel the passion that they brought to the workplace. Each person had their own perspective and insight towards the questions asked, and one person in particular really left me feeling energized about the industry. Her name was Tulani Foy. When she had started out, she was in account, then finally moved over to strategy after a couple of years of grinding. She brought a very holistic perspective to questions since she had the point of view of being a minority, a woman, black, an account person, and a strategist. One thing she had said was that you could find diversity within everyone. That means everyone has something special about them, whether it be a hobby or a skill that pushes them to be creative, or even just finding interest in obscure things. I thought that quote was insightful into building my own perspective. I definitely would love to keep in touch with her in the future!

Amar Mann

I’ve always been one to downplay my achievements because I believed that they were minuscule compared to others/never wanted to come off as cocky while talking about them. However, after visiting these agencies and listening to these amazing professionals talk about their journey to get to where they are, I’ve learned that it’s okay to be proud of the little achievements. The industry needs people who are confident in their research, planning, and craft. Confidence doesn’t have to be boasting about your achievements (although some bragging can be healthy!); it’s about trusting yourself and the process, while loving what you do so you can create good work.

-Lynn Nguyen // 5.15.18

NY After the Hype

I went into this experience ready to fall in love with the idea of working in NY at an agency but quickly began to realize that the person I was early in college and the person I am now are a lot different and as a consequence my dreams of living the NY high life were far from the reality I want to carve for myself today. As amazing of an experience the week was, I was thankful for the honesty and insights I gleaned from the industry professionals we sat down with in the context of advertising but also in the context of the culture of the Big Apple. I am excited to work towards the goal of maybe one day living in NY but until that day I have a renowned sense of appreciation for my little corner of the world across the country.

Ammas Tanveer

5.15.18