There’s nothing like the wisdom of Stephen Colbert who has a knack of summing up what we all are thinking. Only two weeks have passed, yet the experiences we have been a part of have been nothing like any of us could have imagined; it has been so much more, kicking off a beginning that I can only describe as educational, fun, and filled with plenty of OMG moments. We’re talking about things you just can’t get in a typical classroom environment! Here’s some OMG experiences that the other interns have shared so far:

The Commercial Shoots

I’m not talking about a bunch of people sitting around thinking about a cool advertising commercial that a brand can use. I’m talking about actually going to the commercial shoot itself and getting a behind-the-scenes look on how an advertising agency makes this happen. Nijaz and Kristen both had this incredible opportunity, and the things they saw changed them forever… in a good way.

They got an up-close view on commercial storyboards, the length of time it takes to make a commercial, how much it can cost to create a professional-made commercial (in case you’re wondering… it’s A LOT), and how they create some really awesome special effects, such as a “fake” storm. When asked what they learned, Nijaz chimed in saying, “It doesn’t matter what the location looks like, as long as the camera and equipment used is high quality.” He went on about how a location could look like your typical park, but if you use the right equipment, it can be turned into something fantastic. I got two words for this: movie magic!

A Lunch That Gives You Insider Information

One of the cool things that HLK does is arrange for you to have lunch with your mentor. Awesome, right? The directions that the conversations could go in are endless, kind of like the bottomless fry option at Red Robins.

In Mikayla’s case, she managed to get some inside knowledge on what’s new within the development world over some delicious pizza. She learned things like the types of tools that the industry uses all the way to tutorials on a JavaScript module bundler called Webpack. She then went on to say, “While you may have no idea what I'm talking about, as an aspiring developer, I loved it!” She was right: I had no idea what she was talking about, but it sounded pretty epic!

Photoshoots Which Bring Concepts To Life

As our little group was walking together trying not to get lost, Erica Lippitt, one of the content managers at HLK, approached us to see if we would like to watch her do a photoshoot. We all awkwardly jumped at the opportunity, not sure what we were about to witness. With just a few twists and turns down the corridors, we eventually stopped at a long, brown table with a bunch of miscellaneous items spread about.

Erica went on to explain how she was going to use her photography background to take photos of these items for one of HLK’s clients. The concept was to take some photos of a do-it-yourself activity and then place this on their client’s social media sites to bring awareness of their products in a unique way. Next thing we knew, we’re all huddled around the table as Erica used her Canon camera and brought this concept to life.

It was fascinating to see how a content idea might get created for a client’s social media posts!

When The Animal Shelter Visits?

HLK allows employees to bring their dogs to work, so it’s not unusual to see dogs everywhere. However, what happens when HLK decides to bring an entire animal shelter to the workplace? This is something that Zac found out as he followed the sounds of barking and meowing that was coming from the main floor.

At first, he was only planning on staying for a moment with the animals just to see what was going on. Next thing he knew, he’s making friends with an elderly, mixed Collie who kept licking him all over his face and, as he put it, “was very cozy.” After his visit with his newfound friend, his spirits were rejuvenated and he was ready to tackle work once more, showing us that even playing with animals can have beneficial effects on our work!

There you have it! Four OMG experiences filled with excitement, learning and dogs. What more could you ask for from an incredible internship?

You said it baby!