Posted by SMAD October 28, 2007
Story by LIZ DELIVUK

HARRISONBURG, Va. -- For JMU senior Kirsten McGlone, finding the perfect summer internship was a matter of persistence. Knowing that she wanted to work at an advertising agency in Boston, she began scouring the Internet in October. Her determination paid off and after a few e-mails back and forth, and an interview over spring break, she landed an internship Boston advertisng agency DiBona, Bornstein & Random (DB&R).

At first McGlone was hesitant about working at a smaller company. DB&R, however, is a full service ad agency offering video, web and print advertising for clients. The small size of the agency turned out to be highly beneficial for McGlone. She was able to work closely with the staff and gained a great deal of hands on experience. Since DB&R offers no official intern program, McGlone basically took on the design work for the company.

“Flash design is really what got my foot in the door,” starts McGlone. DB&R like many small companies, hires freelance workers to do the design work for their particular needs. McGlone was responsible for banner ads, flash design, and some graphic design for the company.

McGlone, a SMAD major (Interactive Media concentration), had just finished SMAD 308, which gave her an introductory understanding of flash design. She occasionally felt overwhelmed because the creative aspects and design process were left completely up to her. There was no training and McGlone wanted to prove that she had the skills to do the job. She came up with creative ways for troubleshooting, consulting her 308 textbook several times over the course of her internship and even e-mailing a professor when issues came up.

McGlone loved the creative atmosphere that came with working at an advertising agency. She learned a lot about the way ideas come together to make a final product. She redesigned the DB&R logo and her original ideas were all incorporated in the logo’s final version.

McGlone continues to work freelance for DB&R while at JMU. She definitely wants to return to Boston after graduation in May but is unsure of whether she will peruse another advertising agency or continue to work freelance for DB&R.