For the third consecutive year, our FORM internship application process was highly competitive. In fact, 554 applicants vied for one of seven coveted spots, meaning we extended an offer to less than 2 percent of people who applied. Consider that Stanford University, the nation’s most selective college, accepts 5 percent of freshman applicants, and you can begin to understand why we’re so excited about our 2018 class!

So, what made these seven so special?

For starters, they all interviewed extremely well. For the FORM internship or virtually any competitive job, interview skills are critical. They also had to show that they have basic knowledge of their selected discipline, e.g., copywriting or video. But they also had to exhibit a passion for working within a team environment. After all, a team structure is one of the hallmarks of our FORM internship. These interns won’t operate on their own islands for eight weeks. In addition to working with and learning from our agency pros, they’ll form an account team and work together on a summer-long project. We assemble our FORM intern teams in a way that’s reflective of our regular agency disciplines and how those disciplines work together on a daily basis. And when we evaluate FORM applications, we’re not only looking for people who are rock stars on paper — we’re looking for people who we think will be a good culture and work fit at Wray Ward.

Who are they?

I’m excited to introduce our seven interns and a little about each of them. Of course, you’ll get an opportunity to know each of them better if you follow our blog and social media throughout the summer.

1. Madison Sowards, Client Engagement & Project Management: An Elon University junior and a stickler for details, Madison winds down with movies such as “She’s the Man.”

2. Jason Colliton, Copywriting: This University of Virginia junior (Go Hoos!) fuels his impressive vocabulary with chicken fajitas and caramelized onions.

3. Hanh Nguyen, Digital Media: Hanh is a sophomore at the University of Georgia with an eclectic taste for movies — ask her to join you for a Disney animated classic or Marvel Comics action film, and she’ll bring the popcorn.

4. Kayla Kogelnik, Graphic Design: Kayla is a Kent State University senior. She says “The Big Sick” single-handedly revived the dying rom-com genre. I’ll take her word for it.

5. Annie Mohr, Public Relations: Annie loves social media, enchiladas and Patrick Swayze in “Dirty Dancing” (who doesn’t?), and not necessarily in that order. She’s a Georgia Southern University senior.

6. Salomon Onyegbulem, UX Design & Development: An Art Institute of Charlotte senior, Salomon is basically the Bubba Gump of rice. White rice, yellow rice, brown rice, orange rice, fried rice, shrimp rice … he can’t get enough of the stuff.

7. Jessica Rapfogel, Video: She’s Madison’s classmate at Elon University and a sucker for chocolate chip cookies (who isn’t?). On movie nights, “Remember the Titans” is her jam.

FORM isn’t simply a great internship program — it’s unlike any other.

Since I’m Wray Ward’s talent development director, I know maybe as well as anyone that our interns get to work with some of the most talented people in the country. They aren’t just fetching coffee or filing papers. Instead, they’re paid to work alongside some of the marketing industry’s best, contributing real value to our business, while also functioning within a real-life, all-intern brand team. This cross-pollination approach makes FORM a learning experience unlike any other.

It’s a fantastic time to pursue a career in the creative marketing industry.

There is so much excitement in our industry today. The channels are changing and expanding at an exponential rate. The way we create and distribute content today didn’t really exist as little as five years ago, and the final product pulls from a lot of different places and skill sets and talents. Our interns get an opportunity to participate in the whole process, from ideation to measurement. When you’re an intern or full-time employee at Wray Ward, you aren’t just a writer or project manager or graphic designer. You’re a piece of the larger puzzle. You feed off others’ energy. You never get too comfortable. You learn things you could never learn in the world’s greatest college class.

(Bonus tip for incoming interns and future applicants: we view FORM as an opportunity to grow our own pipeline of future full-time talent.)

Want to apply next year? Here are tips to stand out from the competition.

Remember, this is a creative environment, and creativity speaks to us. A standard cover letter or portfolio may not light our fire. By nature, we’ll ask you to share a portfolio or samples of your work — but don’t just show us the work your professor assigned. Show us something that tells us a little more about you and your passions. Show us how you made a difference. Show us what lights your fire.

Get ready for a great ride.

Without a doubt, our 2018 class embodies the best and brightest of a new generation of marketing savants. Their first day is still more than eight weeks away, and already they’ve overwhelmed us with their intelligence and creativity, their eagerness to learn and their interest in our disciplines.

FORM brings a different kind of energy to the office — the kind of energy that makes us look at our own work through a different lens. Maybe it’s our interns’ wide-eyed approach to their work (“You actually get paid to do this, in this environment?!”) or their natural-born talent or the joy of watching them grow, but the end of another summer of FORM is always a sad day for us. Until that time, I hope you’ll enjoy following their experience — and our agency’s experience with them — as much as I do. Keep up with it here and on our two Instagram accounts, @form.wrayward and @wray_ward.