When Opportunity Knocks

Two months ago, the lot of us were making our way to Stewart Hall to attend our evening class. After a week of hunting down new classrooms, triple checking our schedules, and hearing syllabi after syllabi, most of us were not-so-thrilled to be walking into a 3 and a half-hour class. Seeing as this was the only section available for COMM486 and many of us were on the brink of graduation, we had little choice in the matter. We just prayed the professor would let us out early every now and then.

In walks Jeff Palm, a friendly looking guy with a chipper attitude. He introduces himself as he sizes up the room. I don't know what his first thoughts of us were, but he must have seen something behind our tired, zombified eyes. He kept making references to this "big surprise" he had in store for us, which although intriguing was also a bit anxiety-provoking.

Are we having a test already?!

As those long hours go on, Jeff seems to get more and more excited about this surprise. Finally, he drops the opportunity bomb on us: as a class, we will be starting an in-house advertising agency. I feel that bubble of anxiety burst into a firework of excitement, fear, and confusion all at once.

What does that even mean?

Well, let me tell you what it means. It means we definitely do not get out of class early. In fact, it means we meet outside of class time to keep on top of the demands. It means putting in more hours than ever before at the library. It means creating logos, business cards, brochures, and this website - just for our agency alone! On top of that it means design after design for the clients we acquire, and ticket after ticket of deadlines to meet.

If you've ever worked for an advertising agency, you already knew all that. But as a student, I had no clue what this opportunity had in store for me. It means gaining a perspective far beyond what is typically taught in a classroom. It means creating professional material, not just assignments. It means having physical portfolio material, not just a grade in D2L.

Beyond that, it means figuring out how to do things with Adobe that I have either never learned or simply forgotten. It means being open to critique from my peers and offering them feedback that will help them thrive too. It means knowing my classmates better than I ever have throughout my college career. It means that we will have the experience and knowledge about our industry that we came here to receive. It means we may be able to walk away from this university and walk into the job we spent the last four years, and these last four months, preparing to do.

Also, it means that sometimes we get pizza.

Jordyn Cooke

Creative at Fourth Avenue Design

jbcooke@stcloudstate.edu