Be Your Own Cheerleader: My Internship at Harmelin Media

Hi everyone, my name is Alexa, and I am a senior advertising student at Temple. Since January of 2023, I have been working at Harmelin as a Digital Media Buying intern. This internship was hybrid, as I spent two days in-office and one day remote each week. I worked with both the Programmatic & Social teams at Harmelin and loved every second of my experience.

Putting yourself outside of your comfort zone can be difficult, which was what I initially felt when searching for an internship for the spring. Within my major, I am a media planning concentration but had minimal experience of what media planning/buying is actually like in an agency setting. Determined to find an internship that related to my interests, a mentor of mine connected me to Harmelin to set up an interview, where I got selected for the position! 

At the beginning of my internship, I did not have much knowledge of how digital media buying works and felt a strong sense of imposter syndrome. I started to doubt my abilities and felt that I would never grasp the material. Even though the material was challenging to learn, I’m glad I never gave up on myself and asked for help when needed. Both of my managers were incredible and helped me through each project when I was stuck. It’s important to be transparent with your team and ask questions along the way. 

As the weeks went by, I started to feel a sense of belonging at the company because I was seeing progress in my work. Both teams are so enjoyable to work with and having an in-person internship really helped me form connections with my other co-workers. I thoroughly enjoyed showing up to work each week and have learned so much from my time spent at Harmelin. Without this internship, I would not have discovered my love for media buying, especially in the digital space. With graduation coming up in the next few weeks, I am hoping to pursue a career in this field!

Reflecting on my time spent at Harmelin, I am so proud of the work I contributed and the sense of appreciation my team has given me these past few months. The best advice I can give is to believe in yourself and to always pursue your dreams. My manager, Jess, is someone who inspires me and has taught me many valuable life lessons over the course of my internship. One thing that really stuck with me is how she said to always be my own cheerleader. You are capable of anything you set your mind to, so go out and get after it!