All of us at Wray Ward are pumped to kick off the third summer of FORM, our paid, eight-week, full-time marketing internship. While waiting to welcome the 2018 class, we reached out to some of our former interns from years one and two to find out what they’re doing today. It was our privilege to train and work with these passionate, talented young people. So, where are they now?

Kayla Prior, Public Relations, 2016

A 2016 graduate of Elon University and a former hurdler, Kayla scored her dream job as a social media coordinator with Brooks Running in Seattle, Washington. Today, she creates editorial calendars and works with agency contacts for the running gear manufacturer.

WW: What did you love most about FORM? How did it prepare you for the next step?

KP: The thing I loved most was the amazing connections I made with my fellow interns. It took only a few days to create an everlasting bond over tacos and Mac’s Speed Shop BBQ.

Wray Ward helped prepare me for the next step by teaching me to be more attentive to the little details as well as get out of my comfort zone by speaking to a new audience. I had never worked in B2B and with so many brands.

I think taking a postcollege internship was the perfect transition to the real world. It gave me time to really think about what I wanted.

WW: Did someone at Wray Ward have a lasting impact on you?

KP: Yes! Laura Edwards, a content lead on my team. As someone who has always struggled with grammar and finding the right words, I will forever appreciate the many hours Laura sat down with me to help me edit my work and improve my writing.

WW: What would you say to someone who wants to break into this industry?

KP: My best advice is to gain as much experience as you can. Easier said than done, right? Experience doesn’t have to be an internship — you can create your own. Write a blog or create a foodie Instagram. With social media today, the sky is the limit!

HwangHah Jeong, UX Design and Development, 2017

A 2018 graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, HwangHah is on her way to San Francisco for a postgraduate internship with Airbnb.

WW: What made FORM different from your other internships?

HJ: FORM was my first design internship, and I got to work closely with my mentor. I also worked in a big, corporate environment, and the flow was totally different. I had to talk to so many people in order for my work to be validated. At FORM, I could talk to my mentor or creative director right away. That helped my creative juices flow a little more freely, and I learned and accomplished a lot as a result.

WW: Did someone at the agency have a lasting impact on you?

HJ: Definitely. Elaine, a digital designer, was my mentor. I love how she and Josh, our creative director, made me feel like I was part of the team. Outside of taking me to lunch and celebrating my successes, they pushed me by giving me real, critical feedback. Learning from these pros also really opened my eyes to the possibilities of UX design.

(President and Chief Creative Officer) Jennifer Appleby’s energy has a big impact at Wray Ward. She’s so passionate about what she does, and it was awesome to get her advice when we worked on projects. She challenged us and taught us to never stop at one good idea.

WW: What would you say to encourage someone who wants to break into this industry?

HJ: Take chances whenever you can. I took courses and attended talks even if they didn’t feel totally relevant to design. It’s important to develop your soft skills. We’re all telling a story — design is just the tool I use.

WW: What’s next for you?

HJ: I received a few full-time offers, but I took an internship at Airbnb because it’s a design-driven company. I want to be in a culture rooted in art and design. Despite my parents’ plea to take one of the full-time jobs, I decided to go on this adventure. I’m still young!

Jesse Diebolt, Graphic Design, 2016

Jesse launched a graphic design business with paying clients in middle school, long before he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Today, he’s a digital designer with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.

WW: What did you love most about FORM? How did it prepare you for the next step?

JD: Wray Ward did a really good job of matching the interns’ personalities and building a group that worked well together. Also, I loved being able to work on actual projects.

WW: Tell us a little about what you do now.

JD: I’m a digital designer with the Charlotte Hornets. I sit with the digital media department, and I act as a bridge between the creative and public relations departments. The Hornets have so many content needs, especially during the season. For social media, it’s important to be able to take a project at any given moment — maybe a player got traded — and execute it. I’m thinking not only about the aesthetics, but also about what will drive engagement. At the end of the day, my job is to help tell stories in an aesthetically pleasing way that works well on social media. It’s a lot of fun.

WW: What would you say to encourage someone who wants to break into this industry?

JD: If you’re a designer, make it your lifestyle to learn what works for you as a designer, both aesthetically and conceptually. What is your angle? What can you bring that others can’t? There are so many people who can do the same thing, so you have to have a sense of what you bring to the table.

Aleah Howell, UX Design and Development, 2016

Aleah earned a graduate degree in visual communication and interactive media from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Today, she’s the multimedia specialist for the university’s library system.

WW: What did you love most about FORM? How did it prepare you for the next step?

AH: The sense of camaraderie on our team, and the fact that the staff really trusted us to use our skills to make something great. In past internships, I had to follow a list of instructions; whereas, we got a lot of freedom at Wray Ward. I walked away from FORM with a really great project for my portfolio that made me proud — and it still makes me proud.

Unlike a lot of my classmates, I didn’t work at a newspaper over the summer. I decided I wanted to do something different and am really glad that I did.

WW: Tell us a little about what you do now.

AH: Day to day, I develop visual communications and strategies to help market the UNC libraries and their collections and services.

FORM taught me a lot about logistics — how to organize content and prepare creative briefs and presentations. And now, organizing visual assets and getting them ready for promotions make up a big part of my job. FORM helped me understand video, photography and print media — and how to think about how those elements come together to create something cohesive.

WW: Did someone at Wray Ward have a lasting impact on you?

AH: Jesse Diebolt, my fellow intern, was quite an inspiration. What I love about his work is that he doesn’t copy anyone else. He has his own style and he owns it. I follow Jesse on social media, and the work he’s doing keeps getting better and better. If you’re a designer, he’s definitely someone you should follow.

Maddy Beard, Graphic Design, 2017

Maddy graduated from Penn State University in 2017. Now, she’s a graphic designer working alongside developers at Pittsburgh-based Branding Brand.

WW: What did you love most about FORM? How did it prepare you for the next step?

MB: I loved working with people from other disciplines after being surrounded by designers in college. Seeing how projects move through different teams helped prepare me to be successful in my career. Our team was super close, too. I still keep in touch with some of them.

WW: Tell us about your typical day.

MB: Typically, I’m heads down on a project. I create mobile commerce designs for our clients, a lot of which are retailers. I do a lot of research and spend a lot of time in Sketch, which is new for me.

WW: What would you say to encourage someone who wants to break into this industry?

MB: Be open to anything. When I was looking for jobs, I didn’t really see myself in the digital world. I think everything happens for a reason, because I love what I’m doing now.

Want to craft your own FORM experience?

Inspired by these stories? Want to craft your own? In late 2018, we’ll begin accepting applications for the summer 2019 edition of FORM. Follow us on Instagram @form.wrayward for updates.

Meanwhile, think about how to channel your creative talent and passion for what you do into an application or portfolio that will stand out among hundreds of others — but don’t stop there. Right this second, start thinking about how you can embrace this internship for the amazing opportunity it is — not just a summer job, but a peerless adventure on the path that leads to the person you want to become.

Some responses were edited for clarity.