College


Campaigns class - The Campaigns class in the University of Texas' Advertising program is considered the end-all, be-all of students' education there. In this single class, all students have learned in their four years in the program is put to the test. Students are divided into teams - "agencies" - and assigned a real client with a real marketing need. The teams then compete against one another in designing full marketing campaigns to meet the client's needs within the client's budget. In the end, only one agency may be chosen to represent the client - figuratively - though often the clients do use pieces of the winning campaign solution in their real marketing efforts.

Usually, this course spans a full semester. I did it in real time: three weeks.

My small group - a researcher, a PR specialist, a creative, and myself - took on this immense task with vigor. My friends will rightly tell you that I didn't emerge from my work for a second in these three weeks, despite the necessity of staying with a friend (for the lease on my apartment had run out just a week shy of the pitch date). We conducted extensive secondary research, hurried-but-thorough primary research - including two in-depth surveys, two focus groups, and a number of personal interviews - and discovered, nearly halfway to the due date, that the client was asking for the wrong thing. This situation, we found, was one of those where "want" and "need" were not only different... they were complete opposites.

Making great use of our contact books, my team managed to put together a spectacular campaign proposal, aquiring a surprising amount of impressions and personal impact time over a small budget of $25,000. Our approach was exactly what the client needed, and came with the client foremost in our minds - both in the design of the pitch, the style of our writing, and the layout of the book in which we laid out our ideas and goals for the client. Unsurprisingly, it was very well received: they loved it.

It was an unfortunate circumstance that our professor overruled the client's decision to create a tie for first place between our group and our companion group, with whom we'd spent many evenings waving across the wide Communications School lobby. In the end, the better creative won out, and we were awarded a close second - still leagues above and beyond the next ranking team. You'll undoubtedly snort and roll your eyes when I tell you I wasn't too upset, but in this case, it's miraculously true. We worked hard - uneniably harder than I've ever worked. I poured my heart and soul into this project, as did all of my teammates. We gave absolutely all we had to give, and our ideas were well received and amply praised. Several of our ideas are now being implemented by the client, as well, and are so far proving successful. Win or no win, I couldn't be more proud of the work which won me my degree.


Management class - In my final months at the university, I sat through the required Management class at warp speed. The idea behind the class is to give students example cases and have them determine answers to not easily answered questions - valid, strong answers, each of which the student should be willing to implement if the client chooses it. Admittedly, I had a rough start in the class. But as I moved forward and learned what was expected of me, just like in the business courses I'd taken in my four years, I discovered that I had an untapped talent for management and decisionmaking. Examples of some case solutions I wrote up for this class can be found on my portfolio page.


Portfolio classes - I took two semesters of the University of Texas Advertising's creative sequence, Portfolio. I considered it the highest honor, at the end of my sophomore year, to have my application for the sequence accepted. Somehow or other, I got it in my head that this acceptance note meant the end of my hard work. Believe me, I could not have been more wrong. In each semester of Portfolio, I and a copywriter partner take on three to four products of our choosing to design campaigns for. Each week, approximately 12 ads for our current product go on the board to be critiqued. And each day, my partner and I meet for anywhere from 2 to 10 hours outside of our class schedule to brainstorm, draft, create, and perfect our ads. On the one hand, the hours, the stress, and the constant worry that "it's just not good enough yet!" are maddening... but on the other hand, I am growing close to amazing people in my field, building networks, and improving my work and program skills at an exponential rate. I believe I hold with the other students who have been lucky enough to go through this exemplary program when I say that it has been and continues to be hugely beneficial and a real pleasure. I hope to finish out my two remaining semesters at UT with the two final semesters of Portfolio.


Longhorn Marching Band - In my time as a student at the University of Texas in Austin, I have spent countless hours at work and at play with the Longhorn Marching Band. I find time outside of studies to rehearse for eight hours a week, in addition to travelling all across the state for football games. I was also given the honor of acting as the student teacher to the Longhorn Band's color guard in the Spring semester of 2008; while the usual instructor worked with half of my peers on flag, I taught the other half on rifle. It was a pleasant experience both for myself and for my peers, and all have given me positive feedback on my instruction and leadership skills, both during class hours and in working with them individually outside of class.


Identity Winterguard - In the Spring of 2008, I had the pleasure of being a member of a brand new independent winterguard called Identity. We, as a group of college and high school students from Austin, San Antonio, San Marcos, and Seguin, worked together to build an identity (no pun intended) for this new group. Together, we molded it into a friendly and well-known group, and went on to compete in the National championships.

High School


Color guard - For all four years of high school, I was been a member of the Cypress Falls Color Guard: an award winning organization full of good people who love to work. My accomplishments with this program include winning the guard's first and second State Champion title, first Southwest Power Regional Champion title, and a ranking of 7th out of approximately 300 competing units in National Championship. Hard work, long hours, and complete dedication to your sport is what the Cy Falls Guard is all about.


National Honor Society - The two years I spent in NHS were perhaps the best of my high school career. As part of the National Honor Society, I had several opportunities to assist with the leadership of my school by guiding freshmen and new students through the school, tutoring my peers, and helping the office staff to prepare for large parent-teacher events. My fellow honor students and I were happily active in our community and school. Keeping up with volunteer hours required a good deal of time that I didn't always have, but if I could do it again I would not choose any differently. The National Honor Society was a great experience, and a great way to finish off my high school years.


Web Mastering Class - Because I was already an enthusiast of the ever-changing world of web design, I opted to take a class in Web Mastering in hopes of learning a new trick or two. To my surprise, I entered the course with more knowledge of the subject than the teacher had, and on several occasions over the coarse of the year I was called on to solve problems that my teacher could not. In effect, the class that I intended to take only as a hobby turned into a new leadership experience!


Creative Writing - In my senior year, I opted to take a Creative Writing class. Without a doubt, it was my favorite class: it gave me a chance to do something I am not only good at, but ENJOY doing! If any high school course impacted my choice of career, I would say it must be this one: the open-minded, freeform attitude in the CW classroom is one I would definately like to find myself in in the future.


Computer Science - I finished out my senior year as the star pupil of my Computer Science class, walking away with a 98% at the end of the year. I chose to include this class in my resume because it had a way of making me think and problem-solve in ways that no other class could. Working around problems in Computer Science taught me to think "out of the box"; if there is one thing I took away from this class, it is that there is ALWAYS more than one way to solve a problem.


Literary Magazine - In my senior year, I earned a position as an editor for my school's literary magazine, a collection of short stories, poems, and artwork by the students. I was responsible for speaking in front of several classes to advertise the magazine, collecting students' submissions, reading and accepting or declining works, and making sure the magazine was arranged in an attractive, businesslike manner.