SJMC senior Olivia Williams balances school, Greek life, and internship at GSD

April 13, 2015

J Cheyenne Meyer

Olivia Williams is one busy Bobcat. In addition to her studies, the senior advertising major from Flower Mound, TX works evenings as a waitress at Texas Roadhouse, participates in sorority activities in Delta Zeta and interns at the GSD&M advertising agency in Austin.Williams is a media intern at GSD&M and is involved in such accounts as RadioShack, Stainmaster and Whole Foods. On a typical day, Williams organizes requests made by media vendors, pulls reports for previous spending patterns of media campaigns or puts together blog posts to be reviewed by her clients in order to understand where and how to spend their advertising budgets.“Every day is unique,” Williams said. “I also sit in a lot of meetings with vendors that are trying to have the agency buy their product or ad space for our clients – which sometimes includes yummy food.”Williams explained that while juggling school, work and extracurricular activities can be difficult, the pay-off is well worth the struggle.“I’m not going to lie, balancing my schedule has been a bit stressful,” she said. “The past three and a half years I have been used to sleeping in later, walking to classes and just hanging in San Marcos. This semester is definitely a taste of the real world. I remind myself of the bigger picture and how lucky I am to be working my dream internship!”She also shared her secret to staying energized:“I keep myself highly caffeinated.”Williams explained that her favorite class at Texas State, Ad Campaigns with Professor Jenny Buschorn, has been the most beneficial to her success at GSD&M. Structured like a real agency, Buschorn's class operates almost as an agency with students treated as employees.“We had two projects over the semester with actual clients, College Board’s SAT and Sierra Trading Post, that we had the opportunity of presenting our campaigns to,” she said. “I cannot imagine being an intern at an ad agency without having taken that class.”Making sure that she was on the right track with her classes and taking courses that will teach her the most applicable skills, Williams is very thankful for her SJMC advisers. She also finds herself reverting back to things she has learned in her courses at the SJMC to apply in her daily duties as an intern.Though she is in the process of applying for jobs, Williams’ dream is to stay at GSD&M and live in Austin."I absolutely love the city, as well of the culture of the agency,” she said. “I can’t imagine being anywhere else.Even if I don’t end up at GSD&M, I know that I will have learned so much that will prove extremely valuable wherever my future takes me.”By Cheyenne Meyer