Finding a Niche

By Lauren Verdi

My name is Lauren Verdi. I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Winthrop University in Integrated Marketing Communication. As I approach my senior year there are a lot of things I need to be prepared for the rapidly approaching real world. Getting an internship brings me one step closer.

I landed an internship with Cognetix Advertising and Marketing and couldn’t be happier here. It is such a wonderful atmosphere to work in. The “Cogheads”, as they are called, are the friendliest and most hard working people. I was so warmly welcomed into this new environment the first day. It was easy to see how genuine everyone was and that it will continue to be that way. Everyone treated me with the utmost respect and gave me the benefit of the doubt without yet knowing my potential to be a great employee.

Although I don’t have someone to sit beside me daily to watch over my every action, I know and feel comfortable approaching any of them with questions or concerns. I almost feel it is better to have more trial and error experience on my own before turning to someone for help. It makes me more self sufficient. This brings out the quality of perseverance which is important for anyone to have, and I’m thankful they hope to instill more of that in me.

Cognetix has everything I’ve looked for in a company. They are very talented and innovative. I have already seen many awards won and creative pieces designed. I feel that it is just my style. It is a laid back yet professional atmosphere which is easy to work in daily.

I can already tell this experience will fill me with so much knowledge about working hard, fast pace environments, taking the initiative and stepping up, and just learning the ropes of working for a successful company. Every day will be fun and different. In addition every assignment should be just as exciting. Some projects I may be familiar with and others I may have to learn as time goes on, but isn’t learning what this experience is all about?

Again, I look forward to all the assignments, projects, meetings, and events I get to be a part of here. I hope to put my best foot forward, showing my style through the top quality work that I plan to do. I have high hopes of making a good impression on everyone, showing that I’m not just an intern, but genuinely a part of the Cognetix team.

Best All Around

April 8, 2009 by Emily Randisi

  

As my professors like to say, graduating from college without an internship is “career suicide.” Thankfully, I heeded their advice and quickly pursued an internship at Cognetix.

 

I am a College of Charleston senior with a major in Communications and minor in Media Studies. Like most early 20-somethings, I don’t know exactly what my calling is in this ever-expanding field of communications, but that is exactly why my internship at Cognetix has been a perfect fit.

 

On the surface, Cognetix is an advertising and marketing firm. But dig a little deeper and you’ll find award-winning graphic designers, innovative brand identity campaigns, insightful public relations experts and advertising wizards. When the “Cogheads,” as they like to refer to themselves, aren’t in the office stirring up creative genius they’re giving back to our community as volunteers in events like the Charleston Cinco de Mayo Festival, National Child Abuse Prevention Month and Charleston Fashion Week.

 

Since the start of my internship in January 2009 I have been involved in a variety of different projects including researching and organizing advertising opportunities, planning promotional events, working with clients on various advertising purchases, writing press releases, creating sponsorship packets and media kits, and effectively using Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube pages for promotional purposes. At Cognetix, every day is different and I’ve gained an innumerable amount of “real world” work experience through the advice of my supervisors and the experience of working directly with clients on several unique assignments.

 

My internship has been especially productive because I’ve been an integral part of the team rather than a “lackey” in the background making coffee and running errands. Not only will I be walking away from this internship with a wide variety of writing and work samples for my own portfolio, but I have learned from some of Charleston’s finest about the importance of being passionate about what you do in order to produce quality results and exceed even your own expectations.

 

For these reasons I would give Cognetix the “Best All Around” award in the competitive market of Charleston internships and a full recommendation to any college student looking for a fun, interesting and rewarding internship.