Mentorship Initiative with BBDO San Francisco

During the Fall 2020 semester I had the honor of being paired with a working professional at BBDO San Francisco through a mentorship initiative in the Strategic Design and Innovation Fellowship. I learned a great amount from my mentor and am thankful for this experience.

Image via: https://soundcloud.com/bbdosf

My mentor’s name is Minjia and she is BBDO’s Senior Global Account Director. Minjia, myself and another Strategic Design and Innovation student named Jacqueline met via Microsoft Teams in the middle of November. Minjia joined the call ready to dive in and provide advice to myself and Jacqueline, which is something that proved to be incredibly valuable. We first provided each other with quick introductions about who we are, what we have accomplished and what we like to do outside of marketing. Minjia explained a bit more about her role as an Account Director which gave great insight into a role I was not extremely familiar with. This conversation sparked a discussion on what it means to work on the agency side versus in house at a company, a debate many marketing majors including myself have likely had while pursuing their degree. It was great to hear from someone who has always worked on the agency side because she had so much wisdom to share with us and really gave me a clear picture on what it means to work in an agency.

A key takeaway from my conversation with Minjia that I will bring with me into my career is the ability to be flexible. Minjia explained that there are times when her team has a strong feeling on where a brand should go, but may not be where the brand wants to go. Being able to take this feedback in stride and adjust to find an effective, happy outcome is a skill that Minjia expressed takes time, but is invaluable in this line of work. I can resonate with her feeling of believing in a vision but having to compromise due to my experience as a leader in organizations on campus and also in team projects. It was extremely interesting to hear that these softer skills I have already been sharpening up through my collegiate experiences are ones that I will be using into my career as well.

Overall, talking to Minjia was above and beyond a pleasure. She has so much working knowledge and an extensive portfolio that was fascinating to hear about. She has inspired me to push the boundaries of my comfort zone in my internship/career search, think outside the box and always give back when possible. I cannot wait to talk to Minjia again in late December.

I want to thank Professor Mary Harms for arranging this mentorship initiative and going above and beyond to make sure it was executed. It is because of faculty like Professor Harms that students are able to flourish in their personal and professional development.