Gia Mazzarella
平面设计专业学生在博伊西广告公司实习
Gia Mazzarella is a fourth-year student at the University of Idaho earning a B.F.A. in 工作室艺术与设计 除了辅修课程 广告. With an emphasis in Graphic Design, she is currently the editor-in-chief of U of I’s own 污点杂志.
Before being admitted into the University of Idaho’s Art and Design program in 2020, 吉娅并没有明确的职业规划. “I started out freshman year [undeclared] for a semester because I just wanted to explore the options,”她说。. 对于一个“一直都很狡猾”的人来说,” 吉尔说 she didn’t realize she could turn her artistic passions into a lifelong career until she got to U of I. 高中的时候, 我参加了一些摄影课程，并通过年鉴了解了设计,她解释道. “There's a lot of people that fall in the same category as me who have that passion and are looking to turn it into a career.”
She has received several academic and art-related scholarships each year she’s attended U of I, 特别引用了 罗伯特J. 哈德纪念艺术奖学金.
从一开始, Gia was determined to take every opportunity to gain work experience and network with her peers and instructors related to her field of study. 大二时，她加入了Blot团队，担任平面设计师. “We're a student-run publication here on campus that focuses on campus and community life,她谈到这本杂志时说. 作为一个设计师, “you'll be given the photos and the stories that the photographers and writers submit, 然后你把它放到一个版面上.”
大三的时候, 她将成为创意总监，而现在, 从2023年5月开始, 她是《365滚球官网》杂志的主编, 也就是她自称的"宝贝".
“我学到了很多关于团队合作、领导能力和组织能力的知识，”她说. “任何专业的人都可以加入Blot. 当我们招聘时，我们总是寻找设计师、摄影师和作家.”
大三时，她远程为学校设计 MyUI一个校园仪表盘，专门针对汪达尔人. “I designed prototypes of the app for students to test so that we could change the design depending on how they reacted to it,她解释道.
Gia credited the ways she found all her job opportunities to peer and faculty recommendations. 她特别提到 戴尔芬Keim, the Art and Design department chair and her instructor, as a major source of support. “I know it's important to get that experience when you're a student and start to build your network,”她说。 when asked about her motivations to participate in these job opportunities. “I knew it would benefit me professionally getting that experience as a student so that I kind of have a leg up when I graduate. 我有一个可以求助的网络.”
This last summer before starting her senior year, Gia landed an internship with Boise-based 斯托尔茨营销集团, which later would be what she calls the “best experience of my academic career”. 斯托尔兹是“女性所有”, women-led creative agency” that’s worked closely with the University of Idaho since 2016. 她与同龄人的关系再次帮助了她的职业生涯, as she explained: “I'm good friends with the student who was an intern that summer before me. 他特别敦促我申请，并疯狂地推荐它.”
汪达尔人的根基很坚固, and they helped Gia get the competitive creative intern position— “the network of Vandals is real!”她说。. 实习结束后，Gia说她的职业关系网翻了一番. She encourages others to build and utilize the connections with you have simply by being a Vandal.
There, she participated in designing social media posts, print ads and other design projects. 她还参与了与客户、公关和客户管理的会议. “他们真的给了我一份该机构每个部分的大纲要, 这真是太棒了，这正是我想要的,她回忆道。. Gia甚至还出演了一部 video 由斯托尔茨制作，讲述她在那里的工作经历.
When asked if seeing the other sides of the advertising world made her consider other types of positions, 吉尔说, 我考虑了一下, 但我仍然认为它强化了我想做创意方面的工作... 我真的很喜欢设计和参与品牌发展项目.”
并不都是蝴蝶和彩虹, though—Gia shared how she struggled with imposter syndrome at her Stoltz internship. “进入它, [I] was really nervous that I wasn't qualified or wouldn't contribute to the environment,”她说。.
However, she was able to overcome these feelings with the support of her kind employers. “这是我从它身上拿走的一件大事，”她说. “是的, 你可以拥有技能和经验, but just being a good person will get you further… I connected with them personally, 而且在专业上, 因为我和他们一起工作.”
When asked if Stoltz set the bar for future employers she would have, 吉尔说, “Absolutely! 门槛太高了，我不想为不这样的人工作.”
尽管她仍然时不时地与冒名顶替综合症作斗争, 吉娅学会了“有信心”, 即使你不相信，下次她有这种感觉的时候. “这是一个持续的过程，”她承认. “I think everyone kind of has an ounce of that when they're going into a new job.”
“I was pretty surprised how [the internship] aligned with things I've learned in my journalism classes for my advertising minor, 比如创意简报和新闻稿.” Gia claims that one of the most valuable takeaways with this position came from seeing what she was learning in classes be applied to real life work experiences. “他们使用的程序和我习惯的一样, 从头脑风暴到草稿，他们都有相同的过程,”她说。.
“There was a pretty direct link between what you're learning to actually applying it,”她说。. She also learned what to expect in the career path of graphic design marketing, 让斯托尔茨成为一次“大开眼界”的经历. “My internship at Stoltz let me know what agency life would be like… It's just a very fast-paced environment.”
她也学到了很多关于组织的知识, 那年秋天回到学校后，她向《365滚球官网》杂志申请了这份工作. “I have a notebook that I took out of it and it's kind of my Bible of little things that they did, 我把这些知识传授给了Blot. 知道我要接手自己的小生意, I have taken their communication and organization into my own leadership position.”
她说:“我很幸运能得到这份实习工作. 真的, anyone can do it if you put in the effort—you don’t have to have a fancy resume or a crazy portfolio. 你只需要投入进去，做你的研究.”
此外, 吉亚对未来的汪达尔人说, “Ask for help and put in the work… There are so many resources out there to help you succeed, 包括 职业服务.她鼓励其他人完善自己的简历, write a cover letter even if it’s not asked for and do a lot of research for positions they’re applying for. “当我把我的作品集提交给斯托尔茨时，我非常努力, 他们意识到了……所以, 看看所有的细节.”
Gia’s captivating career journey here at U of I demonstrates the importance of valuing oneself in the workplace and working to form a strong network of likeminded people. 现在, Gia最感兴趣的是继续从事广告代理工作, 但她仍然愿意探索自己的选择, 可能会回到博伊西. 希望能在2024年春季毕业, we encourage you to keep an eye out for her experimental senior art exhibit in the Spring!
维多利亚金斯默尔
就业服务市场实习生
