Advice on the Final

You may have shared my confusion in creative strategy with Deb Morrison when she continued to say “It is on the final” yet the syllabus said there was no final. I hope this advice clears some things up and helps you out a bit if you are still in the advertising program because it is just beginning to come full circle for me.

Deb makes you think you can conquer the world in creative strategy, hold on to that, it will help you on the final. You will hear about all the different positions in advertising and hear people who work in the industry speak about their work, make sure to take notes. When you create your idea book, invest in it, because those exercises help you reflect and shape the direction of your career. Learn from how Deb uses twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to connect with people, start networking now and always write thank you cards. Push yourself by surrounding yourself with invested peers, apply for your dream internships even if they seem out of reach, but make sure your book and all of your submission materials are prepared and submitted like you are a sure choice for the position. It may seem like you are getting three times as many no’s as you are yes’, it is because you are, that is where you remember the motivational speech Deb gave you in creative strategy about changing the world.

When I was in New York I realized that everything she told me to do, although sometimes I didn’t understand how it related to advertising, it all had a purpose. As we visited agencies leading the industry, networked, met with professionals and saw all of the ducks flocking anywhere Deb called them to was a testament to this program and her investment in the students who go through it. Deb Morrison is shaping the industry and helping us reach beyond the potential we see for ourselves, and that was a sentiment I heard time and time again during the trip from alumni. This program will set you up for success, and you will “ace the final” if you invest.

The final is your career, your portfolio, your work and your future in the industry.

If you listen, work hard, learn from your professors and peers and prepare yourself for countless failures, you will find yourself in a good position as spring rolls around senior year. But you have to trust the process, know that very few people have a direct path into advertising or their dream job and know that your job does not have to fulfill you in every aspect of your life.

Through this trip, I learned how incredible the advertising program is at Oregon, and how invested the professors are in us as students and young professionals. I learned that the saying “once a duck, always a duck” is exemplified through the community of ducks in NYC. The best part of the New York Trip is that it echoed things I knew, taught me about real life at an agency, and amplified my respect and gratitude for Deb and the professors in the Ad sequence.

So, my advice to you is to invest all that you have, but don’t work too hard. Learn about the world and the people within it, and listen to your professors, they are like your mom, they are usually right.

-Kate Miller 

5.15.18