internship spotlights

When experience meets networking: Internship highlights from CMCI

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 15:23:19 +0000

When experience meets networking: Internship highlights from CMCI Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/30/2023 - 09:23

By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)
Photos by Kimberly Coffin (CritMedia, StratComm’18)

When Pepsi eventually comes out with its snack-focused campaign, one strategic communication student from the ��«��Ƶ will smile knowing he was part of it.

Enzo Ewari, a senior in the College of Media Communication and Information, has been interning with Motive—a full-service marketing and advertising agency—since the summer. As part of his work, he assisted with campaigns for brands like Gatorade, Cheetos, Pepsi and more.

Motive was impressed enough with his work to extend his internship into the fall semester, and Ewari hopes to stay at the company after graduation.

“As I get more involved, I’ll be working on my own campaigns, so hopefully by springtime, I’ll be solely working on one campaign,” he said. “I love Motive, it’s a great culture. They have sister agencies on every continent; I’ve been talking about moving to New York or Singapore. There are a lot of opportunities.”

In high school, Ewari took a business class, and was instantly hooked by the fast-paced energy and possibilities it provided. However, he wanted something more creative, which led him to study advertising. In fact, one of his professors reached out with the opportunity to intern with his own advertising and marketing boutique and assist on a campaign for a whiskey company—just one of his internship experiences, which have included work for PHD Media, Special Olympics International and Volkswagen.

“CMCI is your friend. Just talk to your professors, most of them are still doing work,” he said. “That helped me get this internship.
—Enzo Ewari

When it came to Motive, not only did Ewari’s foundational courses prove incredibly helpful on his internship, various hands-on experiences both in and out of the classroom helped him grow and develop skills, as well.

“Enzo has proven to a valuable member of our team because he's resourceful, a self-starter, a quick learner, and also a curious human,” said Andrew Lynch, vice president of strategy at Motive and Ewari’s supervisor. “He's doing real, meaningful work that is helping us arrive at smart and sharp strategies.”

That practical experience and networking opportunity was pivotal, as it helped boost Ewari’s confidence in the field by giving him a taste of real-life advertising.

“CMCI is your friend. Just talk to your professors, most of them are still doing work,” he said. “That helped me get this internship.”

Networking and access to the right people proved useful once again in landing his role at Motive. David Martinez, inclusive excellence and outreach coordinator at CMCI, connected Ewari with one of Motive’s senior vice presidents of creative, Spencer Trierweiler (Advert’06), who is based out of the company’s Denver office.

“He helped push me through the process,” Ewari said. “A lot of my team is spread out across the United States. Day to day, it was a lot of looking at trends of different industries and deciding what competitors are doing to find a pocket in the market that our clients can hold.”

During his hybrid internship, he has been responsible for market research, taking what he’s learned and creating presentations exploring different advertising strategies a brand could take. Depending on who attended the presentation, Ewari and his team emphasize strategic or creative elements of a given campaign. For example, some creative-focused campaign proposals had interactive elements like pop-up shops or meet-and-greets with professional athletes.

“It’s all about connecting the data—how can you find that new lightbulb idea?” he said.

Lynch said an ability to find those ideas made Ewari such a valuable addition, especially when it came to brand positioning statements in competitive analyses.

"Enzo has been leading these analyses throughout his internship, and always delivers focused and smart category insights that we work into our strategy decks," Lynch said.

Senior strategic communication major Enzo Ewari has big ideas for the future. Now that he has an internship with Motive under his belt, he’s more confident in the advertising field and his place in it.

Off

Traditional

White

Meet Lauren Sorge

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 22:01:33 +0000

Meet Lauren Sorge Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/24/2016 - 16:01

Kyle Rini

Lauren Sorge’s summer work day began at 4:30 a.m., long before many of FOX 5 San Diego’s viewers were even awake. As an intern at the San Diego FOX affiliate station, Sorge needed an early start to write scripts, brainstorm story ideas and shadow reporters who were out covering the biggest stories in Southern California. Her work for the FOX 5 newsroom took her to the California Republican primary after-party and allowed her to meet influential figures like San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. Best of all, she was working in her hometown.

When Sorge blanketed the country with her resume in spring 2016, she had no idea where she might end up as an intern. The application process was lengthy and time-consuming but she kept at it. Eventually, a news station in her native San Diego offered her a position.

As a journalism major in the broadcast track at CMCI, Sorge hopes to eventually work for a national news network, like CNN or NBC. She saw an internship at a large local station, like FOX 5, as a great step toward that goal. “Reporting is what I want to do as a career path,” she said, “and being able to follow [a FOX 5 reporter] was really cool and gave me a lot of good information as well as an amazing experience.”

The internship also taught Sorge about some of the difficult realities of the broadcast new industry, such as strict deadlines and high expectations. “It’s a huge learning curve that’s for sure, but you know, it will be worth it one day when I’m actually applying for a job,” she explained.

When the internship ended, Sorge returned to CU ��«��Ƶ for her final year of classes, better-prepared and eager for a future career in broadcast news. For her fellow students looking for a similar experience, Sorge has this piece of advice: “if you have a passion for something, definitely care for that passion. For me, that was journalism.”

Learn more about internships at CMCI.

A journalism major launching a career in broadcast news at FOX 5 — "If you have a passion for something, definitely care for that passion. For me, that was journalism.”

Off

Traditional

White

Meet Krista Barry

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 21:56:38 +0000

Meet Krista Barry Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/24/2016 - 15:56

Kyle Rini

“I’ve been wanting to work in the music industry for a while, so going into college, I knew that's what I wanted to do,” says Krista Barry, who has long held a passion for music.

It’s a passion that led her to take on internships at local management groups in Colorado, such as 11e1even and 7S, to become a college representative for Warner Music and to found CU ��«��Ƶ’s student-run “Crave the Sound” music blog. Now, in the summer before her senior year, Barry took on dual internships at one of the world’s largest record companies hoping it would put her even closer to a career in the music industry.

Instead of just one summer job at Warner Music Group in Los Angeles, Barry opted for two at separate labels under the Warner brand. At Warner Bros. Records, Barry worked in the artist and repertoire department where she was responsible for talent scouting, artist development, new artist research, creating playlists and pitching new artists to her bosses. At Atlantic Records, she worked in publicity, combing the internet to find which news outlets were reporting on Atlantic’s press releases. She also researched music blogs across the country and reached out to them to see if they could publish the label’s news. “It’s been a crazy summer,” she said.

A Colorado native, Barry was thrilled to work in LA, the music and entertainment capital of the world, where she got to attend countless concerts, including informal performances by Warner artists in the company’s backyard.

As a student majoring in public relations at CU ��«��Ƶ, she was excited to work for a large music label and gain experience from the seasoned industry professionals. “I feel like it’s been a really good experience actually being able to pitch artists and getting honest feedback from my boss and that’s so helpful.”

After all the hard work and fun in LA, she returned to ��«��Ƶ for her senior year, better-prepared to take on the challenges of working in the music industry. Barry’s advice for students looking for internships: seize your chances while you can still “take advantage of being a student. Take advantage of this opportunity to intern at your dream place.”

Learn more about internships at CMCI.

A Public Relations major exploring the LA music industry with two internships — “I’ve been wanting to work in the music industry for a while, so going into college, I knew that's what I wanted to do.”

Off

Traditional

White

Meet Austin Uteda

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 21:50:41 +0000

Meet Austin Uteda Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/24/2016 - 15:50

Kyle Rini

If you’ve ever watched cable television, there’s no doubt you’ve seen a bug or a snipe—small graphics and animations at the bottom of the screen that promote the channel’s other programs or inform viewers of what’s on next. For every station, those bugs and snipes need to be scheduled to best promote the channel and its programs. At Bravo, that job fell to Austin Michael Uteda in summer 2016.

Uteda, a communication major at CU ��«��Ƶ, was a summer intern at the Bravo TV network, working in the on-air promotions department. He was responsible for scheduling the day’s bugs, adjusting snipes and sending premiere times to the network’s East Coast operations.“I felt really valued while having an important role,” he said.

A native of Los Angeles (where Bravo is headquartered), Uteda was excited to find an internship that's not only close to home, but with one of his favorite TV networks. He got the internship after applying to parent company NBC Universal’s college career portal.

In addition to his daily duties scheduling snipes and bugs, Uteda also helped with video shoots and attended informational meetings about other roles within the network. “They’ve been very open to me exploring all departments at Bravo,” he said.

He relished the chance to learn valuable skills from working professionals in the broadcast field. he said. “They’ve given me so much insight into how the industry works.” Uteda hopes to use his experience at Bravo as a major stepping stone to a future career in communication.

Learn more about internships at CMCI.

A communication major and summer intern putting his major to use at his favorite TV network —
"I have been able to sharpen my communication skills within the office environment, which I know is very important,"

Off

Traditional

White