Bonjour mes amis. I'm Elizabeth (Elle/Ellie/Beckely/L/Burger King) and I'm a summer intern here at The DSM Group. I'll begrudgingly admit that I'm now a senior (WAH) at Indiana University, with majors in International Communication, and Telecommunications, and even though any professional will tell you your minors in college matter even less than your major, I threw two in the mix anyway- French and Communication & Culture.
When I'm not in Bloomington lounging in my sorority house or cheering on the Hoosiers at any IU sporting event (except for Football, although you can definitely find me in the tailgating lot), I'm pretty much always eating NY pizza, drinking Starbucks, painting my nails, or partaking in any other #basic activity you can think of.
I'm passionate about coffee, yoga, and my rescue pets - three cats named MamaCat, Socks, and Simba, and my new pup, Charlotte - yes, I'm beginning to become a self-righteous pet rescuer. I'm also a vegetarian, but I'm trying my best not to become a self-righteous vegetarian/vegan, because really, is there anyone worse than that?
I just returned from studying abroad in Paris, France, last week, and I found out about The DSM Group after a night of hopelessly realizing I would not be able to work out a visa to stay in Europe for the summer. After Google searching marketing/advertising internships that wouldn't require relocating/breaking the (already broken) bank, I stumbled upon this lovely little firm in Northern New Jersey. Being from New York, I couldn't help but start to day dream; "Cheaper gas that I don't have to pump myself?", I pondered, "And a short drive to the Garden State Plaza, where I can shop without tax?", I imagined. With that, I was sold. I also have always aspired to be a Real Housewife of New Jersey (shout out to you, Kathy Wakile), so I figured Franklin Lakes would be the perfect place to begin pursuing my dream.
I sent out my application and soon-after made The DSM Group history: the first ever international intern interview via Skype. That evening I sent out some writing samples, and nervously awaited their response. My resume is so mediocre that I'm still trying to figure out a way to appropriately incorporate that I was voted "Most likely to make the world a better place" my senior year of high school, so I was probably highly unqualified for this internship. But alas, this girl can write, so they hired me anyway.
The only reason I chose to intern here is because a Noodles & Company is opening 10 minutes away and I figured I could at least have delicious lunch breaks all summer. I'm (kind of) kidding...I chose to intern here because as much as I love Starbucks, I really didn't feel like spending my whole summer making coffee runs for money-hungry corporate-worshippers. I wanted to actually learn something, and after reading the blog and checking out their work, I knew that I would be more than just an intern here, I would have the opportunity to be part of the team.
Just two days in, I know that I am going to get a lot out of this internship. I learned as much, if not more, yesterday from training than I did in an advertising class in an entire semester. I'm becoming fluent in programs that are necessary to know in this industry, discovering how to put the vocabulary terms I learned in school to use, and learning the ropes of how to be successful in such a lucrative market. It doesn't hurt that my first-day-of-work black slacks were pretty much considered black-tie attire for this office.
I'm excited to pump out some blog posts this summer about how to remain competitive in a constantly changing industry. They may even include some funny stories about office antics or my 40 minute commute (Jersey drivers *rolls eyes*), if you're lucky. Ciao for now, I'm going to get my first coffee refill of the day.