AW Intern Chronicles: One Month In!
Every summer, Addison Whitney welcomes an outstanding group of college students into the office as our summer interns. This year, our class consists of four interns representing three schools from around the area – these four will be working in the marketing, brand strategy, market research and verbal branding departments, and we are excited to have them on board this summer!
Today, we have a post from Caroline Beuley, who is interning in the marketing department, giving us a look inside her first month at AW!
Not only is this my first month as an intern at Addison Whitney, but this past month has been my first month as an intern ever. Everyone has heard the horror stories; in fact, many of my friends have experienced the making copies, answering calls, running errands and fetching coffee-brand of internships that lie in wait for the employment-desperate college student.
On the other hand, Addison Whitney’s webpage proclaimed that at their internship, “The only coffee you’ll get is your own.” This seemed like a good sign, but I knew I wouldn’t know until the internship really began.
After my first month at AW, I have gotten a lot of caffeinated beverages, but they have all been for myself, and they have been Diet Coke (because coffee is gross).
What I mean to say is that working at Addison Whitney has required self-sufficiency and a constant alertness, hence the caffeine. While I have some responsibilities that don’t change week to week, such as compiling a comprehensive list of Addison Whitney’s past projects or writing a blog post for brand salsa, the company blog site, my daily routine is always changing and evolving as I become more knowledgeable and experienced.
In the first two weeks of my internship, I presented a brand audit to Addison Whitney team members comparing the branding strategies of a pair of yogurt brands. Two weeks later, I presented a competitive audit of ten different branding firms with a fellow intern to six Addison Whitney employees, a task which I would not have believed myself capable of at the onset of my internship.
Something that I would have believed even less at the start of my internship was that my bosses would not only want to teach me but to learn from me. In this presentation, however, I watched as the people who had interviewed me a few months ago took notes, asked questions, and genuinely listened to my responses as I described the techniques and strategies of other branding agencies.
My favorite part about my internship so far is that Addison Whitney has made me feel valued, and, consequently, I have learned to value it. My second favorite part is the free candy, Diet Coke, ice cream, and sometimes, if you’re very lucky, popcorn chicken.
Addison Whitney is a global branding firm with a passion for building strong brands.
To learn more about Addison Whitney, visit our website at AddisonWhitney.com, or contact us here.