Kevin Braden
Northwestern University
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Heil-Brice Retail Advertising

"To be an intern is to be something you earn yourself because acceptance to the program isn’t based on whom you know or how many years you’ve worked at your dad’s firm.  It means we have a great opportunity we should not take for granted. This internship is a superb stepping-stone into the industry, but to take advantage of it you always have to put forth your best work."

Holly Brzozowski
Ithaca College
Hometown: Endicott, NY
The Wall Street Journal

"I feel honored to have been chosen as a Stickell Intern. The program has opened so many doors and has given me the opportunity to observe and understand many aspects of the advertising industry. I have met some amazing people who have helped me discover where my strengths and interests lie. I am entirely grateful for the chance to participate in this once in a lifetime experience."

Carrie Frondorf
University of South Carolina
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
AJC Jobs

"There hasn’t been just one great experience during this internship. The whole thing is an ongoing wonderful experience that keeps changing me into a more confident, competent person."

Angela Martin
Oklahoma State University
Hometown: Newalla, OK
Leo Burnett

"'To whom much is given, much is required.' Being a Stickell Intern means that I have a legacy to uphold. I am not just representing myself, but the AAF, the University of Texas and the Stickell family. It means an immense amount to have that responsibility, and I am truly honored."

Evan Nicholson
Chapman University
Hometown: Pleasanton, CA
Toyota

"Advertising is the fun sibling of the business world. The one that other family members look to for advice on the future, and which restaurant to take a friend.It’s the selling of ideas rather than soap; it’s spreading knowledge rather than shilling metal washers. Best of all, you sell those things at the same time."

Cynthia Nutter
Drury University
Hometown: Springfield, MO
7 Eleven

"I have learned the client’s side of the advertising world and the business aspects that take priority. I now know what the client companies deal with when looking at advertising, public relations, and marketing, as well as how they respond to the different agencies compared to how the agency would respond to them. I have truly gained insight into the minds and concerns of the clients."

Myranda O’Brien
Texas Tech University
Hometown: Katy, TX
Houston Chronicle

"The most important thing I have gained from my internship is coming to terms with the fact that you are going to hear the word “NO” a lot in this business. Not all of your ideas are going to be great. They may be great to you, but it may not be what the client is looking for… so get used to it."

Tracy Patrick
UT El Paso
Hometown: Crestview, FL
Newsday

"This internship has shown me that no matter how much you learn in the classroom from textbooks, nothing replaces real experience. The disparity between theory and real life, from what I’ve seen, is usually pretty large. Some of the things I’ve experienced in my internship I never could have learned in the classroom."

Katey Porter
The University of Texas at Austin
Hometown: Houston, TX
Los Angeles Times

"To be a Stickell intern is like living a dream. I have always wanted to work in a fun and well-known company in an exciting city. The fact that I am getting closer to that vision through the best internship program in the nation is a great honor.  Mr. Vance Stickell had such a passion and drive for advertising. To be associated with his name is a true privilege."

David Roth
The University of Texas at Austin
Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI
McCann Erickson

:"The funniest, wildest, most clever and insightful idea for a campaign might not fit the voice of the brand you’re working on. Advertising students want to hit the ball out of the park when it comes to creating a campaign by doing something zany.  Often, we overlook the brand equity that a company has been building for years and years. It’s not about what you can do for the brand. It’s about what the brand needs, independent of you."

Daniel Screptock
Ohio University
Hometown: Holland, OH
Toyota

"To me, this program is Advertising’s Top Gun—the best of the best. Like pilots (the interns), we have come from all over the U.S. to display skills that set us apart. This program has pilots (account managers), gunners (creatives), and radar technicians (account planners), and each has a different skill to bring to the fight. And as much as we are here to show off our skills, we are also here to honor the man that began this program, Mr. Vance Stickell, and we do that by being successful."

Hunter Sebresos
Brigham Young University
Hometown: Provo, UT
DDB

"I started out wanting to be an artist because of my natural talent. Then I discovered that I also enjoy strategy. Advertising uses left and right brain thinking. It’s the perfect mix of art and science. I started making my own ads and now I can’t stop."

Christopher Sommerfeld
Indiana University
Hometown: Kokomo, IN
The Richards Group

"For me, advertising is one of the ultimate challenges in business today. I mean, you’ve got 30 seconds to grab someone’s attention, entertain them, and then actually convince them to buy something. Couple that with legalities, budgets, difficult clients—this is definitely an industry for the inventive."

Julia Tang
University of California, Berkeley
Hometown: San Jose, CA
GSD&M

"From starting with the creative brief, to conceptualizing, to presenting ideas to creative directors, to internal presentations, to external presentations... everything is real. The internship opportunity allows me to be involved in a way that I can truly see what it takes to go through every step of the creative process in advertising."

Dan Thorn
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Hometown: West Chicago, IL
Slingshot

"Advertising is a unique facet of the business world, because it is a creative art form, but it fits into the business environment as one with a concrete purpose. Sometimes that purpose is money, sometimes it’s a change in behavior, sometimes it’s to draw attention to a meaningful cause. I love the idea that the work of an agency can inspire so many people to action, to thought, and to change."

Megan Williamson
Southern Methodist University
Hometown: Lexington, KY
Valassis

"With this internship I have realized not to have such narrow focused plans. College students are expected to know exactly what they want to do a year from now, but from what I’ve learned you have to be well rounded in the field so you can go in whatever direction you want when it’s time to get there. "