This Spring/Summer term I interned for Nuscreen Inc. Nuscreen is a four-year-old digital firm that specializes in web development, marketing, and branding. Their clients include Sally Hansen, Studio Lagree, Community 54, Turkish Airlines, Sunwing, Nella Bella, Startup Fashion Week, and more. Located at Richmond and Spadina, they work with Shopify, the ecommerce developer around the corner, and are well connected with the other companies in the King West neighbourhood.

By the end of the eight weeks, I felt comfortable, respected, and accepted into Nuscreen’s organizational culture. I was honoured to host three Facebook Live shows, where our founders and guests talked about trending topics from tech to fashion to social media strategy.

The highlight of working was being able to work on client accounts. This was where I felt my most useful and also felt like I learned the most. My bosses have a collective 20 years in the tech and marketing industries so the way they think is much more forward thinking and informed than the way I think. In order to succeed, especially in tech, is not to update to reach today’s standards, it’s to update to reach tomorrow’s.

As a firm trying to get more clients, it’s our job to come up with the next big idea for whatever industry our client is a part of. I appreciated this because it made me realize how different life is in the professional world versus in school. Instead of thinking about class and looking back at how scholars or ‘experts’ have done things, as a professional you have to think about what exists now and how you can make it better or make something new. I have actively started trying to train my brain to think in a more entrepreneurial/forward thinking way.

Experiencing being an Intern differs by company. It wasn’t the coffee fetching, paper filing, stuck in the corner experience stereotypically portrayed in movies (even though unfortunately those internships still exist). Of course paying dues and being at the bottom of the food chain comes with extra tasks, but the balance between that and being trusted enough to join client meetings makes it all worth it.

My advice for future interns is to get your voice heard. Be tenacious. Go the extra mile. Work the extra hour. Give your (thought-out) opinion. Your presence can help your team see things in a new light. Learn not only from what your bosses directly teach you but also how they think, engage with clients, and how they solve a problem. It will help you prepare for joining the real world more than learning how to put together a good power point. If you accept your role as the bottom of the ladder, the person who cleans, the coffee errand-person, that’s all you’re going be. If you strive to rise past those tasks, you’ll earn more responsibility. And at the end of the day your bosses now are going to be professional connections later.

Here’s hoping I helped Nuscreen as much as they helped me! They’re only going up from here. *drops mic *