The Intern-spective: College v. The Real World

Hi everyone! My name is Mia Villarreal and I am the newest member at JP Marketing, the intern in the media department!

I started interning at JP Marketing this past December and I can’t tell you how much I’ve learned in the past few months. Everyone says you need an internship in order to gain real world experience. That’s exactly what I did. Boy, were they right.

There’s a distinct difference between learning at school and putting it into effect in a real job. School taught me the principles of marketing and advertising with projects here and there. Don’t get me wrong: I met deadlines, worked with other classmates on national campaigns, and learned the in’s-and-out’s of SEO. However, none of that knowledge was truly tested until I landed my internship as an assistant media buyer at JP Marketing.

The media department gets lots of phone calls, emails, and buy detail reports on an hourly basis. Fresno State’s school newspaper, The Collegian, prepared me for face-to-face sales meetings while maintaining a professional attitude. It also prepped me for hearing the word, “no,” the majority of the time. Fresno State’s Mass Communication department was a hands-on experience of the sales and marketing industry through various campaign projects.

My experience at JP has taught me to rise to the occasion to be noticed. I have worked hard throughout my college career to obtain this position, and I wasn’t going to let it pass me by.

Someone in the advertising field once told me, “Know a little bit about a lot.” I’ve been keeping my ears and eyes open and absorbing everything as it comes. I am learning how the entire agency’s mechanics work although I may be scheduled to work in the media department. I plan on dipping my feet into the many currents of advertising whether it’s through media or writing.

Check back for my updates on intern life here at JP!

– Mia Villarreal, Media Buying Assistant

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