By Zinny Bonner, Communication Intern
Today is my last day as a Communication intern for GSD&M this summer. Just yesterday, we were a group of eager interns sitting in lobby waiting for Ayeshia Toy from the “People” department to walk us through orientation and all things GSD&M. Somewhere in between being issued a laptop and the scavenger hunt, and I realized this was it. This was the first day of my dream internship, and I was living it.
The environment at GSD&M is light-hearted and hard-working. I would describe it as a children’s museum if it were for adults and if it were an office. Are you seeing it? Yeah. It’s pretty cool, right? Although some days were slower or more exciting than others, I looked forward to it because I knew I would start my day stuffing my face with Sarah’s breakfast tacos, and leave for the day smiling on the inside because I got to play with an office puppy.
It’s hard to feel unwelcomed or out of place in an office as diverse as GSD&M. Diversity is the key to an advertising agency that prides itself on ideas that make a difference. Those ideas only come from the collaboration of different perspectives; at this agency everyone’s perspectives are valued—even the interns. When I asked interns in the creative, media, and HR departments what their favorite part of being an intern was this summer, everyone agreed it was the valuable experience.
Across all departments, interns weren’t considered copiers or coffee-bringers, but contributors to those difference-making ideas. I can’t recall a time where I didn’t have any work that needed to be done. From start to finish, our mentors all trusted us to complete tasks and projects with little to no supervision aside from approval of the end result. Real world experience like that can’t be fabricated on a resume; you either have it or you don’t.
I came into GSD&M knowing little about the profession I’ve been studying for the last three years, and I’m leaving just as eager to add to the knowledge I’ve gained in my short time at this hub of creativity. Thank you, GSD&M, for all of the lessons learned and memories made. I’m a little sad today, but I’m leaving smiling on the inside just as I had everyday working here.
