Six Texas Advertising students selected as the Most Promising Minority Students for 2010
Six students: Chelsea Anaya, Jamie Chan, Nhu Ngoc Le, Sandra Nguyen, June Yu-kyoung Oh, and Jacqueline Tam from UT were among 50 other students honored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF) as the Most Promising Minority Students for 2010.
This premier award program sets out to connect the advertising industry with the nation's most outstanding minority college seniors in the areas of Advertising, Marketing, Media, and Communications. In February, these students will be flown to New York City to attend a 3-day conference and will have all expenses covered to attend this event by the AAF and corporate sponsors. This program allows the advertising industry to connect with the nation's top minority graduates for recruiting opportunities in hopes of better reflecting a more diverse advertising industry. Students will also have the opportunity to network, interview, and surround themselves with major advertising professionals.
Chelsea Anaya, a California native, is majoring in Advertising in the Texas Media sequence and is also completing the Business Foundations program. Chelsea has spent a year as Vice President of Special Events for the Texas Advertising Group and is on her fourth advertising internship, currently residing at GSD&M Idea City in the Account Service department. What do you most look forward to at the Program? I'm looking forward to meeting the other finalists. I think we will all have a lot to learn from each other, coming from such diverse backgrounds. There's also a good chance that I will be working with one or more of them in the future.
Jamie Chan is majoring in Advertising and completing the Business Foundations sequence. Specifically interested in Media, she interns at EnviroMedia Social Marketing as a Media Buyer. Always willing to learn new things, Jamie finds the perfect fit with advertising, a fast-paced, rapidly evolving industry. What opportunities or challenges do you think minorities face going into a career in communications? Many times minorities do not have the confidence to go into a career in communication. This is a self-challenge that must be overcome. With this Immersion Program, it will help those that need that extra boost, like me. Being able to talk to professionals, being honored as a MPMS, and having the chance to interview with top advertising agencies is a great way to gain that confidence and take the next leap.
Nhu Le is an Advertising student within the Media & Interactive sequence at UT. She currently works with the University Co-op, advising them on various new and emerging technologies. She will graduate in May 2010 and is currently in the process of interviewing. What do you most look forward to at the conference?
I look forward to meeting people with diverse backgrounds who have the same goals as I do. I think it's important to get to know those who understand the difficulties facing minorities within the industry, so that we can all work together at overcoming those disparities.
Sandra Nguyen is double majoring in advertising, in the Texas Media sequence, and marketing. She fell in love with New York City after interning at McCann Erickson this past summer and would like to return for a full-time job after graduation in May. However, she is open to all opportunities on both the agency and client sides. What opportunities or challenges do you think minorities face going into a career in communications? I think there are growing opportunities for minorities in the communications industry. As companies are becoming more specific in who they want to reach as consumers there will be a greater need for minorities who have a better understanding of their cultural groups.
June Yu-kyoung Oh is an advertising and economics student with a concentration in Texas Media-Interactive with a minor in Spanish at UT. She is currently the Media Director of TAGlines, a full-service student-run ad agency on campus. Being raised in Seoul, South Korea to graduating from high school in El Paso, Texas, to studying abroad in Madrid, Spain, and to interning in New York City, June Yu-kyoung is well-versed in Korean, Mexican/Latino, American and Spanish culture and fully multi-lingual in Korean, English, and Spanish. How do you think your skills will help you contribute to creating a more inclusive communications industry?
A successful advertising professional embraces diversity and has a well-rounded knowledge. To become one someday, I have immersed myself in different cultures by traveling or moving to many cities in the world, and explored several fields of study in college. By these efforts, I positioned myself as a successful advertising professional potential. Approaching from different perspectives, I can build creative campaigns where more target consumers can resonate themselves with the delivered message. Also, my future colleagues will indirectly experience diversity and will learn to accept it to create a more inclusive advertising industry.
Jacqueline Tam is a Texas Media student at UT who plans on graduating in May 2010. Post graduation, she hopes to land a job at a leading advertising agency in either New York or San Francisco as a Media Planner. Her past experiences include interning at Mindshare New York, Starcom Hong Kong, and she is currently spreading the word about flu prevention at an agency in Austin called Enviromedia. How do you think your skills will help you contribute to creating a more inclusive communications industry? I had the privilege of interning in diverse environments -- Starcom, Hong Kong, and at Mindshare this summer through the 4A's Multicultural Advertising Internship Program. Through these experiences, I gained an invaluable perspective that has allowed me to understand the need for bridging multiculturalism on a domestic and global level, which will pave the way towards an industry that can relate to the growing diversity of our society.