The School of Communications students are two of six remaining candidates for the global communications firm’s unconventional internship program.
Taking a page from the unconventional career path of its CEO Fred Cook, Golin is hosting its inaugural “Unternship” program, with candidates competing to design their own unique three-month adventure anywhere in the United States. During the experience, the selected untern will share insights in real time with Golin and others via videos, blogs and social media. At the completion of their adventure, the untern is guaranteed a full-time, paid position at Golin.
The communications firm announced last week that LeSourd and Walpole advanced into the program’s top six. Fellow School of Communications student Lauren Snow ’16 also placed in the top 29.
In the coming weeks, the six candidates will be trimmed down to three finalists and flown to Chicago for an interview in February. A single untern winner will be named on Wednesday, March 18, with their self-designed “Unternship” beginning in June.
“I am really proud of Peter and Cate for making it into the top six of this competition,” said Ashley Pinney, associate director of corporate and employer relations in the School of Communications. “Golin is a global, award-winning agency, and they had many students all over the country submit ideas. To have not just one, but two of our students make it to the top six is really impressive and a testament to their hard work, creativity and ingenuity.”
Walpole credits Pinney for proposing he apply for the program and Paul Castro, associate professor of communications, for encouraging a video resume submission.
“I could not be more pleased to see my friend Cate in the top six with me, and it speaks volumes about the quality of students at Elon that three of our students’ names are listed on the ‘Unternship’ website,” the Media Arts & Entertainment major said.
Despite not learning about the “Unternship” program until the day of its submission deadline, LeSourd’s last-minute entry has withstood the competition.
“To be completely honest, I found out about this the day it was due and once this idea popped into my head, I figured I might as well take advantage of this opportunity,” the Strategic Communications major recalled. “To get this far in itself is more than I expected, so I’m just thankful and excited to see what’s in store!”
Be sure to watch Walpole and LeSourd’s entertaining video submissions for the Golin “Unternship” program.