Name: Sarah Powers
Degree: Strategic Communications
Expected Graduation Date: 2013
Company: BigWing Interactive
Landing her dream job right out of college is Sarah Powers' greatest accomplishment.
Powers worked at Ackerman McQueen for three years after she graduated. She worked on large local and national accounts. Powers' internship experiences helped her land her dream job.
Her advice to sophomores and juniors is to not be afraid to apply for internships.
“I began interning my sophomore year, and at that time, I was bitter,” Powers said. “I felt like I was losing my summer to be stuck behind a desk. In reality, it was the best decision I made.
“I am currently at Big Wing Interactive, which is a digital advertising agency in downtown Oklahoma City, and I am an account strategist. My favorite part of my job is visiting with clients, learning and discovering their pain points and developing an advertising campaign to overcome those pain points.”
She said it was rewarding when she heard from clients their sales went up and more people visited their website because of a strategy her company developed.
“No one can teach you every aspect of a strategic communication job because there are curveballs thrown at you every day, and I call them fire drills,” Powers said.
Powers learned a lot in college. If one of her client’s websites went down, she would get a request from that client and refer to the fundamentals she had learned in college. Then, she would figure out the next steps to fix it.
Although college taught her a lot, it also brought her some of her favorite memories.
“My favorite memories will forever be Danny Shipka's buzz bucket before exams, my various classes with Gina Noble and winning the capstone campaign with New View,” Powers said.
Her advice for seniors is to reach out to the professors and pick their brains. She said they are there to help, share connections and be mentors.