Most college students have some plan for how to start their professional careers. The objectives usually look something like this: get good grades, study hard, find an awesome internship, and you are off to the races. 2020 has disrupted many things for everyone, but this disruption has presented a particular challenge for college grads looking to gain valuable experience through internships. Many college students watched their internship positions simply evaporate into thin air as companies were cutting back. Spring graduates were left without that last significant opportunity to add to their resume and make professional connections.
Aaron Lauby and Cristiana Hawthorne were following this early professional blueprint. Both graduates of St. Olaf, Aaron in 2019 and Cristiana in 2020, they saw internships disappearing and the plans of friends and classmates disrupted. Enter Covid-19 … changing everything and majorly disrupting their well-designed plans. Struggling to find opportunities, Aaron and Cristiana realized they were not alone, and that many young professionals in the Twin Cities marketing and advertising community were experiencing a similar fate. Where could they get the experience they needed to grow professionally if the job market was so chaotic and unsure?
This realization sparked what is now BoundarylessMN, providing opportunities to young and aspiring professionals throughout the Twin Cities in the advertising, marketing and creative community. The non-profit program provided interns with real work, real mentorship and real experience. Founded by Aaron and Cristiana, the model is structured like to mimic an agency project: 2-4 week project, five break-out sessions, four aspiring professional team members, two professional mentors and one client RPF. This model has been incredibly fruitful in giving young professionals ways to boost their confidence and boost their resumes, not to mention make lasting connections with professional mentors who guided them through the process
Together, Marcomm and BoundarylessMN hope to build a new way for the next generation of professionals to get experience in a practical and meaningful way. Providing a path accessible to those who may not have been able to have these opportunities because of the challenges of our current job market. Boundaryless has capitalized on understanding the challenges of giving young professionals accessible real opportunities, and Marcomm supports their initiative.
If you’re a professional looking to help the next generation get their start during this disruptive time, check out www.boundarylessmn.com and learn about mentor, sponsor and client opportunities for the next round of internship programming set for this winter. And follow them on LinkedIn – BoundarylessMN
Continuing our mission to rebuild the value of relationships within the marketing community, purpose driven partnerships like this only make us better together. We believe the time is now for our marketing community to align. To explore opportunities and strategic alignments with Marcomm, contact Director of Business Operations, Jamie Simpson. And follow us on LinkedIn at Marcomm Inc Minneapolis. Follow us on Twitter @Marcomm_Inc_MN
