I can’t speak for my other team members, but our first day HLK was similar to the first day of high school. Remember when you were a kid and it was the night before the first day of school? You try to calm the overwhelming feeling of nerves by picking out your outfit for the next morning, which actually makes you even more nervous. I couldn’t help but think, “What if I’m overdressed? Or worse, what if I'm underdressed?”. Then the flashbacks from the first day of high school hit with the combination of, “What if I get lost?” or “What if I don’t make friends?”.

Fast forward to noon of the following Monday...

Everything I was afraid of went away instantly after meeting my fellow interns. It didn’t take long for us to feel like a team, which was great because we were assigned to come up with a team name. We researched the team names of the interns from the past to help guide us. (PS - “Adstronauts”, if you're reading this, props to you for your team name.) We brainstormed for a few hours and ultimately came up with, “InternStellar”. The term “Interstellar” means among or between stars. This felt very fitting because we felt like lost, little interns surrounded by intelligent and creative people (the stars). Next, we had to take a group photo for the blog and decided to be less than traditional. We wanted to stand out from previous group photos, so we decided to channel a photo from the 1970’s of men with a reflective expression. (We apologize if our photo looks more “Hunger Games-esque” than it does reflective.) We’re very excited and thankful for the opportunity to work at HLK for the next six weeks! Here’s to hoping these next five weeks don’t fly by like the first week.

Hi! My name is Jeff Ross and I am InternStellar's Media Strategist. As the media strategist, I research to uncover which platforms (Facebook, radio, billboards, etc...) would be most effective in reaching our target audience. This includes finding prominent data that proves the potential upside of utilizing certain media. I am from Glen Rock, New Jersey and am going into my senior year at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois. I love to play basketball and baseball, and also enjoy being surrounded by nature. On my first day at HLK, I was a little nervous... and very overdressed. I went the whole nine yards and wore a full suit and tie, despite the temperature hovering around triple digits. I realized quickly that I had overdone it. The atmosphere at HLK has struck me as being a perfect medley of professional and comfortable, where a suit would not always be necessary, but a positive, working spirit would.

My name is Irina and I am the team’s Art Director. I didn’t realize my true professional calling until after completing my first bachelor’s degree in History, and now it finally makes sense why I have always thought visually – from solving math problems in my head instead of through an equation, to doodling endlessly on everything. I am thrilled to have a career in a creative field, mainly because I get the opportunity to meet and collaborate with extraordinary people. Also, I’m almost used to the feeling of never knowing enough and constantly find myself in the middle of an online course or a tutorial. My roots are in a beautiful historic town not far from Moscow, Russia, and my background often helps me stay grounded and shift perspectives.

Hi! My name is Aaron Dozzi. I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina, and I'm a rising senior at Washington University in St. Louis studying Neuroscience and Marketing. When I'm not snacking in the office, I love trying new things in my free time – from learning how to play Despacito on piano, to, as of just yesterday, yin vinyasa yoga. As a Strategist/Researcher, my role is to translate business objectives into strategic communications solutions – from idea through execution and improvement. This includes (but, of course, is not limited to) shaping and defining a project's focus and purpose, determining the audience and how to best satisfy the goal of the business and identifying and reporting key success metrics. Since day one, the Launchpad internship has delivered a unique chance to experience agency life through hands-on projects and to learn and grow everyday through the help of personal mentors. This is, quite simply, awesome. I'm excited to delve right in with a team of talented interns, and, as a Strategist/Researcher, utilize my two areas of study to combine consumer behavior and business in one role.

Hey, I’m Laura Grayson and I am the Content Manager. During the course of this internship, I will be in charge of the Launchpad Blog where I will write about myself and the team’s experience over the next six weeks. I will also be in charge of the content plans associated with our client projects, including social media, email, blogs and video. I am currently a senior at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. During my free time, I can usually be found playing guitar and piano. However, my favorite hobbies are photography and videography. I love turning an ordinary video or picture into something much greater. I applied to HLK because I thought this would be a great place to experience a real advertising environment. I also liked HLK because I felt that my photography and videography skills would be put to use in a marketing way. To say I was impressed with HLK on my first day would be an understatement. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I am very excited about this six week journey and I am looking forward to gaining the experience and knowledge that will be needed later in my career.

My name is Shelby Carey and I am Session Two's Account Manager. For the purposes of this internship, I have the job of creating the timelines for InternStellar's projects, keeping everyone on track. I come from a small town in Central Illinois, called Beardstown. I am majoring in Communication and Rhetorical Studies with a minor in Art. When I'm not busy with school and extracurriculars, I love to be outside. I grew up on a farm raising and showing pigs, hunting, fishing, riding four-wheelers, etc. Don't let my farm roots fool you though, I enjoy shopping, getting my nails done and binge watching Netflix just as much as the next person. My first day at HLK was amazing and every employee I have met has been welcoming and eager to offer up their help. Someone once said "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" and I'm starting to see exactly what they meant by that.

My name is Rachel Garten and I am the Copywriter. The Copywriter is responsible for telling conceptually strong and flawlessly executing stories. I collaborate and improve the work with the designers, account managers, art directors and strategists. I am from St. Charles and I went to school at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Some of my hobbies and passions include: writing, reading, listening to music, watching movies, cooking, swimming, paddle boarding and kayaking. My favorite food is Chicken Alfredo. On my first day at HLK I was, of course, nervous about finding the place and meeting everyone but I was also (and still am) excited to learn and experience working at an agency as great as HLK. I love the atmosphere, work and people – being here is the best part of my summer.