Name: Na’im Carlyle
Major: Advertising
Title of Internship: Brand Management/ Content Creation Intern
Company: The Richards Group
Location: Dallas, Texas
Responsibilities: As a brand management intern, I assisted the principal brand managers on the team by updating status reports and sitting in on meetings with clients and other departments. As a content creation intern, I assisted the content team with production shoots and concepting for social media executions.
What is the biggest challenge you faced during your internship?
The biggest challenge I faced during my internship was coming to terms with not knowing how to do everything and that being okay. Going into my internship, I thought that I needed to know everything and that wasn’t the case. Part of the growing process is being able to ask questions when you don’t know something.
What was the best part about your summer internship?
The best part of my summer internship would have to be the people I met. Everyone at The Richards Group, including Stan Richards himself, were always happy to talk to me and give me glimpse into their experiences in the creative and advertising world. It helped me to have a better understanding of my future career path and shows how incredibly humble and open The Richards Group is.
What is the most memorable experience you had during your internship?
The most memorable experience I had during my internship was when all the interns were able to sit down and ask Stan Richards about the company and himself. It was amazing getting to ask the owner of The Richards Group about his success and why he enjoys getting to come to work every day. He’s very humble and gave us some great advice as we are starting to navigate our own careers.
What was the biggest surprise in your internship?
How fast-paced the work environment is. I wasn’t expecting how fast I’d be doing projects and switching clients to help the team.
What is the most valuable lesson or skill you learned during your internship?
To ask questions and learn as much as you can by talking to people outside of your discipline. Everyone has knowledge and experience that can benefit you in the long run. You just have to be willing to take a chance to ask them to coffee.
What advice would you give to a student looking for an internship?
Keep an open mind. You might not start out doing what you want to do but you can always gain valuable perspectives and insights with whatever you do. Always find a way to learn all that you can and make your experiences work to your advantage.
What part of your Grady education did you find most valuable during your internship?
All the opportunities and experiences that I’ve had a Grady really helped me to put myself out there and my willingness to talk to as many people as I could and continue to learn and grow my skill set.
How did your internship help confirm your desired career path or make you re-evaluate what you want to do in the future?
By entering the advertising industry in account management where I was able to see the interactions between the agency and clients and even the agency with other agencies, it’s shown me that I not only have the skill set to do client relations, but also I’m more passionate about the creative side of advertising, whether that lies in strategy or design. I definitely prefer the more tangible approach to the industry.