Some words of wisdom and love from our most recent incredible intern, Kenzie McAndrew!:
“It seems like a lifetime ago that I was sitting in my classroom in Lincoln, NE, worrying about my upcoming deadlines while in dire need to start applying for internships. Because of my love for traveling and the satisfaction of stepping out of my comfort zone, I desired to find an opportunity outside of the Midwest. My eyes had been on Seattle for awhile, and so the search to find a graphic design studio who I could both learn from and fit in with began.
As I browsed several websites of graphic design studios in the Seattle area, Hero Creative was one of the first places that offered client services for everything that I was interested in learning more about. I searched through their portfolio and was inspired by their branding projects, their incredible photography/videography, as well as the websites they have designed and developed. As a student, I am learning about all of these fields and wanted to have exposure to each of these branches of graphic design in the real world.
I had sent my portfolio and resume to Hero Creative, and I was ecstatic to hear back soon after from Mark offering an interview. I video chatted with the entire team and nervously answered questions while I learned more about them, and could not believe at the end I was actually offered the internship with them. Just from talking to everyone at Hero, I knew it was a place where I would feel included and productive while gaining experience.
After completing my internship with Hero Creative, I was exactly right and so much more. Every single person at Hero took time out of their busy schedules to teach me new skills and gave me endless guidance that is invaluable. I could not have predicted the amount of learning and growth as a designer that I would receive in my 2 short weeks at Hero.
Throughout the duration of my internship, I was assigned actual client projects to work on and was included in all of their team and client meetings. The team of 5 at Hero Creative has such a strong dynamic which is something that directly reflects in their work. Because of their communication and passion, they work together to produce inspiring work that I was lucky enough to be apart of. The warm attitudes of each person and the constant laughter while we worked are just a couple of reasons outside of my learning experience why I loved being at Hero every single day.
Their passion for design was contagious. Right as I started to work on my projects I was driven to use the skills I had learned in my classes while being pushed to be creative in other ways. This internship taught me a lot about working with existing brands and catering to the needs of the client within the work I produce. I was able to code a plugin sellable to existing and future Hero clients, help design and develop it’s complementary website, create business cards, flyers and other pieces of collateral for popular businesses in Seattle, gain new photography knowledge, and collaborate with everyone on exciting projects.
It’s not incredibly common for students to go on an internship, feel like they are contributing to a team every day, and immensely enjoy and adore the people. The honesty and relationships Hero Creative has with clients is something that makes them amazing outside of their design talents. Their clients absolutely love each member and it’s evident how confident and comfortable they are with the Hero team altogether.
Overall, there’s not a single thing I would have changed from my internship experience. I was always busy with meaningful work and felt comfortable contributing with everyone at Hero Creative. The team taught me that we are in a field where we will forever be students; there is always something new we can learn, and we will constantly be improving and enhancing our skills. Although at 2 weeks I feel like I’m just getting started, I’m excited to bring my new skills and knowledge back to my classroom for my final few months. I can’t express how grateful I am for this experience and I’m excited to see all of the amazing future projects and growth that comes Hero’s way!
Love,
Kenzie”