Learning to Lead with an Open Mind

My name is Eva Schenck, and I am currently working at the Graphics Media Center (GMC) as Assistant Manager. During my time at the Graphics Media Center, I’ve been faced with uncounted scenarios, some of which were unforeseen challenges for which I had to quickly propose a solution. Over the past two years, my position has taught me to lead with an open mind–not every problem can be solved the way you think it should upon first glance, so it is best to be flexible. Though, sometimes being flexible is easier said than done.

Although it is my favorite part of the job, sometimes communicating with clients and coworkers is tricky. It often requires one to be adaptable and go against their own way of thinking. For example, sometimes a design client at my job will have ideas of their own regarding what should be done with their design–even if I think I know what is best from a design or advertising standpoint, it is more important for me to keep my mind open and be responsive to the customer’s wishes. Sometimes, remaining open yields an even better and more exciting end result.

One of the interesting aspects of my job at the GMC is that customers are often looking for a designer with advertising sensibilities. In these instances, I’m able to practice what I’ve learned about advertising from my classes to present the client with the best possible product. I really appreciate that about working at the GMC–it isn’t every day that you find a job that lets you practice so many of the things you want to do all at once.

If I had to give one piece of advice to students, who are about to start their first internship, it would be to proceed with an open mind. In these types of positions, your supervisors will often have ways of teaching you things that will serve you extremely well for years to come. In my opinion, it is crucial to get the absolute most out of an internship experience–one may never have another opportunity to have learning included in their job description.