A Summer to Remember

This summer I had the pleasure of interning at Ogilvy. My internship experience was a bit more complex because I was also a MAIP fellow. MAIP is the Multicultural Advertising Intern Program which promises some of the communication industry’s most promising individuals an opportunity to network and intern at reputable agencies across the nation. MAIP is special because it is specifically catered to people of color, who are historically marginalized and underserved. My duties at Ogilvy included one group project, note-taking for client meetings, social listening, and pitch research. For the Ogilvy project we had to pitch to a client who was looking to increase consumer engagement among Gen-Zers and Millennials. They not only wanted to increase engagement but also wanted to establish loyalty within their target audience. My team and I proposed an awesome idea for a sub-brand specially-made for that demographic. During meetings with our clients I helped with note-taking and keeping our team on the same page as it relates to deliverables and client-needs. I collected and managed data from the campaigns we launched in order to track success and engagement. Before pitching to clients, I helped with researching some of the main questions our team had about their client’s history. These were only my responsibilities as an intern at Ogilvy, however I also had responsibilities as a MAIP fellow. For my MAIP responsibilities I completed two group projects and client briefings. I also attended labs twice, sometimes three times a week and several mandatory networking events.

The best part of my internship was the invaluable lessons that I learned about conflict resolution and no longer allowing perfectionism to rob me of peace. While working in a group, I was faced with tensions but ultimately learned the importance of de-escalating a situation quickly and objectively so that it would not get in the way of our team’s responsibilities. So many times throughout my internship we were urged to not let perfectionism get in the way of our performance. Leaders in MAIP and at Ogilvy talked about imposter syndrome and how easy it was to feel inadequate. They motivated me to trust my capabilities. Being thankful for every new experience is what unlocks true joy and success. It is so easy to compare oneself to what we see on social media, moreover, what is often projected on an individual by society and those closest to them. Perfectionism tells me that I have to do something a certain kind of way, but I’m learning that thinking that way is unreasonable and stressful. Learning these lessons were the best part of my internship but I think the worst part of my internship was the heavy workload. There were so many deliverables for different projects; it felt like I was doing a ton of things decently instead of focusing on a few things and doing extraordinarily well. Nonetheless, this reinforced the importance of time management but it often got stressful.

As it has been said by myself and many of my peers, this summer flew by fast. I am so grateful that beyond such stressful moments I have been able to learn lessons and apply them in my life. I feel like I am a much better person because of it.

Thank you, MAIP and Ogilvy.