High Schoolers “MADE” for this.
They are the future.
Opening high schoolers’ eyes to the advertising world, envelopes such hope in their potential success. The final presentation is near, and I’m so excited to share our work with executives from Temple, Philly Ad Club, and administrators from both of the high schools. The best part about this event is the two, very different campaigns that the students we’ll be presenting to our client- Philabundance. There are two “big ideas” that I’m sure will win them over. Kensington CAPA’s efforts are more digital, as they focus more on viral production and showcase their talent with technology. Palumbo’s work is more a combination of PR and and print. It will be interesting to see how they match up against one another, giving the audience variety and a nice taste of what high school students can do at this level.
Beyond this program and its creative endeavors, I’ve enjoyed the mentoring aspect even more. After a few students have reached out to us about their college plans, it has been a pleasure to help them in any way we can. Whether application advice, proofreading entrance essays, or major choices, we have shed a light on how deep this program can reach. I would usually write a post following the presentation to discuss its success and talk about how much progress we’ve made but instead, I want to talk about the anticipation of being “almost there.” Working with a non-profit organization, one that high school students are only semi-familiar with, was a challenge in itself. The commitment from these students was an even greater challenge, but I believe the lack of consistency was due to the interference of other after-school activities. The same obstacle affected our progress last year but by the end, we had a nice size group devoted to the program. It seems to be working out the same this year.
Moving into two schools instead of focusing our efforts on one, is the greatest difference thus far. Now, we have two different campaigns, double the responsibility and hopefully twice the reward. I know it will come together in the home-stretch of the journey towards this pitch-day. Teaching students about something I’m passionate about, only makes me love it more. We learn so much from them, that I value each week for its impact on my future. Having been peer teacher for this course for two years has made this program part of life.
I know that because of this experience, I’ve became a “Self-Made” individual. I know that because of this experience, I’ve became “Philly-Made” for this industry. I know that because of this experience, I’m “Temple-Made.” From this point on, this journey marks my change, bringing me closer to this city and all of the talent within it. It’s possible that I will leave this course, this program, with only memories to look back on. But, my success in this field will be a consistent reminder of the lives we’ve touched, the future’s we’ve changed, and the high schoolers that we’ve “MADE” for this. Advertising doesn’t have the power to make things happen, only people can do that.
