From Internship to Full Time Position
Graphic Designer, Jessica Joseph, Recaps Her Experience At Apple Box Studios
Looking at the calendar, it’s been four months since my college graduation and almost a year into my career. It feels like yesterday I was walking down Penn Avenue with some friends, and I look up at this red, brick building to a metal plaque that read, “Apple Box Studios.” Aspiring to be graphic designer, I knew I wanted to get experience in an advertising agency so when I returned to my apartment I looked up Apple Box, and it was fate. They were hiring new fall marketing interns.
During my first week on the job, the whole office went hiking on the Rachel Carson Trail. I love the outdoors, so I knew this was going to be awesome. Plus, I got to bring my camera. A day away from the desk on a beautiful trail, sounds like a pretty decent work day to me.
When we got to the trail, the Chief Creative Officer, a.k.a. owner of Apple Box, a.k.a. my boss told me, “You are the art director. Tell us what to do and we’ll do it.”
I didn’t know what to say because this was my first week on the job, and I can be a little timid with people I just met. Also, I had absolutely no idea how to direct anything, let alone anyone. I was the new intern!
Throughout the hike, Mike said things like, “What’s your vision?” and “You know what to do” – I had NO CLUE what to do! So I just started snapping photos when I saw the right opportunity, and I ended up getting some great stuff!
In other words, I followed my gut to just wing it, “fake it until you make it,” right? And everything turned out great. That day, I thought to myself “if this is how this ad agency spends their Fridays, it must be a pretty cool place.”
From September to April, I learned the ins and outs of agency life in Pittsburgh, and a few tidbits I have kept with me are:
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Coffee is 100% necessary in the morning
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You can never create too many versions of one project
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You’re usually always working with other people
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Pickleball is a game played to help people with Parkinson’s disease stay active, but they are VICIOUS ON THE COURT
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The Adobe programs are a bottomless pit of tools. No one will ever know everything there is to know about them.
By being in the right place at the right time, I was lucky to land the internship at Apple Box Studios. I must done something right during that time because I was able to secure a full time Graphic Designer position a few weeks before I even graduated, and I’ve never looked back! Along with making life-long relationship, I basically play all day and get to call it “work.” I wouldn’t trade this ad agency life for anything.
