Event Marketing Internship with Only Elite Matters

Hi! My name is Victoria Chhor and I’m a junior Advertising major with a minor in Digital Marketing. For the Spring semester of my junior year, I received the position of Event Marketing Intern at Only Elite Matters. Only Elite Matters, also known as OEM, is a small digital creative agency and an artistic collective based in North Philadelphia. They focus mainly on creating social content, visual media, and curating impactful events for people in the community. As an event marketing intern, I was collaborating on ideas and coordinating details for any upcoming events. I helped produce these events from the beginning planning stages to the onsite execution.

One event curated by our team was a promotional shoot for a female empowerment showcase. The concept of the photo shoot was to show women dominating in suits. I assisted with selecting models for the shoot, discussed possible locations, and helped with production aspects such as videography. The overall theme of the shoot was to demonstrate that it is possible for women to rise together and support each other without society telling them they have to compete with another. Working with a creative agency, I was able to gain hands-on experience in the conception and production of photo shoots, something I was not familiar with, but I discovered I enjoyed it immensely. I was able to tap into a creative space during meetings where usually, my mind would be focused on strategy and execution.

Every year, OEM showcases talented women in the Philadelphia area, called “Phenomenal Women 3”. I was excited to be able to help execute the third part of the series celebrating women in the community. The event creates an outlet for women to share their works of art and knowledge. We invited women panelists to the event and I had the opportunity to meet DJ Diamond Kuts, a well-known DJ, producer, and entrepreneur in Philadelphia. It was refreshing hearing about her experiences being a young women professional in a male-dominated field. I have met so many passionate people at these events and at my internship. They taught me the importance of collaboration and inspire me to continue to work hard in this ever-changing industry. I am grateful to have had this opportunity at Only Elite Matters.

With such a short time here at Only Elite Matters, I’ve learned some really important things that I want to share:

1. Surround yourself with people who will support you. It’s a beautiful feeling when you have a group of people you can connect to and feel excited to share ideas with every day. I walked into the office knowing that people were supportive of me and what I had to bring to the table. With differences aside, we were all passionate and driven individuals.

2. Embrace creativity. The chance does not come often, so when you are given the chance to create, take it. There’s nothing like putting effort into a project and the outcome being better than you expected.

3. Gain different experiences and don’t stop learning. I never had a clear path of what I wanted to do, I still don’t and that’s okay. I love how broad an advertising degree is and the diverse internship opportunities it has opened for me. I’m interested in so many aspects of my industry that it can be difficult choosing a path, but OEM helped me realize that you will learn a lot about yourself and what’s right for you in the process of figuring it all out, so don’t stress!