I Know What I Did This Summer (Worked at Jellyvision as the Marketing Analytics Intern!)

In my 10 or so years of being an orderly citizen of the Internet, I’ve never felt passionate enough about something to actually go out and blog about it. There’s a subtweet every now and then (which quickly gets deleted) and maybe a Facebook rant once in a blue moon. But with an internship of a lifetime coming to a close (in Marketing Analytics, if you’re wondering), I think now’s a good time to break that silence.

To start things off, I’m going to be a junior this fall at the University of Michigan, studying marketing analytics at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. To paint a bit of a better picture, I was the kid in school who actually liked math. Yeah, now you’ve got this picture in your head, right? Well, it’s not too far off honestly.

I’ve got Star Wars memorabilia littering my desk and even a neat-o Lego set I picked up downtown one day. And the best part? It fits in here at Jellyvision.

Ten weeks goes by quicker than the Millennium Falcon can make the Kessel Run (c’mon, I had to put in at least ONE Star Wars reference!) and I’ve learned a lot in that span of time. One thing I’ve come to realize is that being yourself is what makes the Jellyvision tapestry so unique, to the point where I won’t be able to describe it in these 600 words. Let’s just say I’m surrounded by people whose interests and disinterests coincide and differ from one another, but the culture of this company is what allows them to all mix together, forming one awesome shade of purple.

Another fun fact: I’m in the marching band at Michigan (yay band!). In all my collegiate experiences, I’ve always taken lessons from the marching band and applied them outward to classes, clubs, etc. “To be on time is to be late” is a famous motto of ours and “Embrace the suck” is courtesy of Coach Harbaugh. These mantras have always driven my punctuality and perseverance and it’s definitely made me a better student. However, I’ve never had an outside experience shape how I function in the MMB, until this summer when Jellyvision really truly instilled in me the importance of a very simple idea: “Be helpful.”

Being helpful, to each other, to clients, to pretty much everybody possible, is the philosophy at the heart of everything Jellyvision does, but I know it’s a philosophy you can apply to your life in general too. Going into the new school year, I’ve been thinking about how I can be more helpful with new band members: not only by teaching them how to march to the best of their ability, but also giving them the emotional support the need, listening to the grievances of people around me and offering advice when they ask for it, and being the best leader I can be within my section and in the band.

This isn’t to say I didn’t learn a ton about marketing analytics, because I did. But what’s probably going to stick with me longer is how important it is to always treat people with respect, and that helping people doesn’t just mean helping when they ask you, but anticipating ways to help people in advance, too.

Anyway, there you have it! Now excuse me while I put my band game face on and get ready to crush (musically-speaking) The Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii.