{"id":2564,"date":"2010-12-13T11:12:44","date_gmt":"2010-12-13T17:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=2564"},"modified":"2015-11-12T08:41:10","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:41:10","slug":"colleen_hickman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/colleen_hickman\/","title":{"rendered":"California dreaming shapes career path for biz\/PR grad"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colleen Hickman needed creativity. So, she applied for an internship at one of the world\u2019s top 10 advertising agencies in Los Angeles, where her colleagues rode around on scooters \u2013 indoors<\/em>, brought their dogs to work, and lunched and brainstormed at the agency\u2019s indoor park.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t be sitting in a tan cubical box when you want to be creative,\u201d says Hickman, who enrolled in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee\u2019s Lubar School of Business Marketing major and Business Scholars Program in 2006.<\/p>\n

Business school was a good fit for her, but fell short of her creative expectations. Hickman found a complementary degree alternative in the Journalism and Media Communication (JMC) Department. She pursued a double major in business and JMC, with an emphasis in advertising and public relations, and also enrolled in JMC\u2019s Digital Arts and Culture (DAC) certificate program.<\/p>\n

And just in case a double major in marketing and journalism isn\u2019t enough to make Hickman stand out in a competitive job market, she\u2019s got real-world experience to complement her academic accomplishments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed to get out of here,\u201d says Hickman. In pursuit of an out-of-state internship in spring 2008, Hickman searched through advertisements in magazines and researched the companies that created her favorite advertisements.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere I am, a little sophomore with no work experience, emailing the HR person of these worldwide companies,\u201d says Hickman. \u201cOne HR woman called me for a phone interview. The interview went well, but the woman said: \u2018If you want to really secure your chances of getting this internship, an in-person interview would be ideal.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She flew to Los Angeles, interviewed and got the internship at TBWA\\CHIAT\\Day (TBWA). Ranked among the world\u2019s top 10 advertising agencies and No. 24 on Fast Company Magazine\u2019s \u201cWorld\u2019s 50 Most Innovative Companies\u201d list, TBWA was an ambitious intern\u2019s paradise, although the relocation was a costly one for Hickman.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy living expenses each month in Los Angeles alone were $1,000 plus,\u201d says Hickman. \u201cI took out a private loan, as I decided this was an investment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It paid off. Hickman worked on the accounts management team for clients Energizer, Principal Financial Group, LeapFrog and Shutterfly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much about the industry during that summer,\u201d says Hickman. \u201cI was hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n

To save money, Hickman stayed in Milwaukee the following summer, and decided to pursue an internship with Thirsty Boy \u2013 a \u201cdigital outfitter\u201d that creates traditional and social-media campaigns. Hickman\u2019s clients included Rustico and the Ambassador Hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went from a worldwide company to a local shop in the Third Ward,\u201d says Hickman. \u201cAfter being able to compare such different experiences, I knew I wanted to ultimately be somewhere doing something big.\u201d<\/p>\n

So in summer 2010, Hickman applied coast to coast for internships. She was offered an internship in Los Angeles at PMK*BNC, one of the largest public-relations entertainment agencies.<\/p>\n

Hickman worked in the marketing department and was the firm\u2019s first digital media intern. She worked events like the T-Mobile FIFA World Cup Live Viewing Event with special guest Mario Lopez and the Expedition Blue Planet Fundraiser, did celebrity outreach for Nike Jordan, conducted field research and held a leadership role in a presentation for Audi, and helped create an internal social media presentation.<\/p>\n

Now she\u2019ll spend her first post-college months saving money, and in a few months move to the West Coast, where she has work waiting for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve invested a lot financially into these internships,\u201d says Hickman. \u201cFor those looking at internships, don\u2019t be scared to go out of the box. It\u2019s the experience you get that lands you a job.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colleen Hickman needed creativity. So, she applied for an internship at one of the world\u2019s top 10 advertising agencies in Los Angeles, where her colleagues rode around on scooters \u2013 indoors<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40008,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[122,124],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-2564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","section-campus-community","section-students"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia dreaming shapes career path for biz\/PR grad<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Colleen Hickman needed creativity. 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