Designing for Temple’s STHM
My dream would be to end up in a creative director role at a company both designing and creating the big ideas. I’m from a town outside of King of Prussia, PA, called Glenmoore. If you ever crave the woods with a flare of random farms and fields, Glenmoore is the perfect place for you. The town is filled with entrepreneurs and small businesses that I feel lucky to call local. Something that I’ve always appreciated about Glenmoore is that even though it’s filled with fields and farms, it’s only roughly a fifty minute drive to Philadelphia. One of the key reasons I chose to come to Philadelphia for school is because I knew the opportunities would be unlimited and unlike anything I could find in my hometown.
The first internship I had was a social media marketing internship that was not very well organized or very well correlated with my studies/passions. After the first internship I knew what I was looking for and that having a social media position just was not for me. I had been hesitant to apply for graphic design positions since I had yet to get the experience needed to build up my portfolio. However, before applying at STHM, I gave myself time to work within the Temple Advertising Club and the Allotrope Agency to build up my experience within design, which I highly recommend doing. For any concentration within Advertising or really any major, it’s a good idea to put as much time as you can into experiences that will give your portfolio or resume substance. Any experience you can get your hands on, do it.
I applied to Temple’s School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management for a graphic design position in the beginning of March through Klein Connect. Not long after I applied and submitted my portfolio I was called into an interview with STHM’s Marketing team. Not long after the interview, I started my position. My position criteria was mainly creating designs/campaigns for STHM’s social media platforms, working with marketing materials, and helping the head designer as well as other departments with design materials. Sadly, I was only in the office a few times before the pandemic hit and did not get to touch my office keys since. The position of course moved to completely virtual, which for a graphic design position really isn’t too bad of a transition. With all the programs and communication mediums on my laptop I didn’t require much in person. It was so bittersweet getting to be in the office environment and then getting snagged away. I’m sure the experience would have been even richer if not for the virtual shift.
Despite the pandemic however, I had nothing short of a great experience at STHM. The team I worked with was made up of incredibly creative, welcoming, and driven individuals, I am so thankful for them. Not only did the team offer me constant support and necessary feedback, they also continuously did their best to make sure I was able to take full advantage of the opportunity. Since the internship lasted so many months, I really was able to get acclimated to work loads and the demands for social media. Professionally and academically I have seen so much growth thanks to my time with STHM. My design skills escalated in ways I did not even think possible in that amount of time. I am so grateful for this design and professional experience and will continue to utilize what I have learned at my time with STHM into all aspects of my future career.
