PPB September 2018

Real-World Success Story How An Internship Opened The Eyes Of A Former AMA Student As a junior at Quinnipiac University in the fall of 2016, marketing student Matthew Lewis was hoping to find a summer internship much different from his first two experiences at an HR company and hedge fund firm. “I wanted to give myself the opportunity to see how other industries operated,” he said. “I found that by immersing myself for two or three months at different companies, I was able to take enough away from the experience to decide if it was something that I really wanted to do with my life or not.” After researching a few companies, Lewis lined up three interviews in one day. After the third interview, he accepted an internship with New York City-based Axis Promotions. When asked how he made his decision, he recalled his first impression after reviewing the distributor’s website, describing it as “modern, cool and colorful” and recalled seeing a case study on The Walking Dead , a TV series he enjoyed watching. He was also fond of the big-city location and found the office to be “a laid-back environment.” Even after three years of marketing and business classes, this AMA member was surprised he had never heard about the promotional products industry. Yet when he embarked on his 10-week internship, “everything changed,” he says. “After completing my internship, I not only found myself familiar with the industry, but I felt a strong sense of comfort in what I was doing as well. There was a mutual feeling of accomplishment. Not only did I feel that I benefited from my experience, but Axis did as well.” When Lewis returned to college for his senior year, he said he knew he would be back at Axis. “There was a sense of importance at Axis; I was on a team with a common goal where my voice mattered. I had suddenly found myself in a role where my strategy had to be parallel with that of my team. My decisions affected our clients and they mattered. [The industry] was something that I hadn’t appreciated in school but now could.” Chasing the positive feelings he found as an intern at Axis led Lewis back to work for the company after graduation. “The internship showed me the importance I could play in the bigger picture of business. By having the opportunity to work with these people beforehand in building confidence and a series of strategies, I knew I was ready for more.” FEATURE | 2018 Higher Education Study academia and the promotional products industry to work in fluid, collaborative and non-hierarchical models of practice. The most meaningful and enduring way to defeat the myths and misconceptions of the promotional products industry is for industry companies to create deeper partnerships with the academic community by building dialogue with those who are firmly positioned at the intersection of theory and practice. While many motivated industry professionals have competing priorities and limited time, schools across the nation have found innovative ways to connect with industry professionals in a manner that balances the experts’ capacity and commitment (Figure 5). These opportunities further leverage a strong partnership to better engage, equip and empower educators to position promotional products as a key component of the mainstream business curriculum. The next generation of talent will be the single most important driver of industry growth. Investing in today’s influencers and tomorrow’s leaders will ensure a bright and prosperous future for the promotional products industry for generations to come. Although bold in undertaking, every conversation, every interaction and every forum will unite to represent a resilient force. “In fact, as a result of taking this survey, I plan to insert this topic into my class this term,” said a part-time adjunct professor. As the great Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” The complete results from the 2018 Higher Education Study will be available as a special report this fall. Access the current collection of PPAI Research by visiting www.ppai.org/research. Moumita Das is research manager at PPAI. 94 | SEPTEMBER 2018 |