Braxton Mayhew first landed an internship at Ally, a global communications and marketing firm, but the opportunity has now transformed into a part-time role for the Elon student.
When Braxton Mayhew ’26, an Elon University marketing student and scholar in the Odyssey Program, contemplated spending a semester on the west coast at Elon University Los Angeles, one of the big draws for him was the opportunity to gain experiential learning through a marketing and communications-focused internship that would help prepare him for his professional, post-graduation career journey. His decision to spend the fall 2024 semester in LA was, in many ways, life-changing.
Mayhew landed an internship at Ally, a global communications and marketing firm, assigned to focus on influencer management for their client, KEEN Footwear. The strategic objective was to gain free endorsements of KEEN products from influencers by gifting them their shoe products, confident that they would love them and want to tell their followers about their new footwear discovery. It turned out to be an A+ idea.
The KEEN campaign quickly became Mayhew’s primary focus, and he quickly proved that he was very good at it.
“We would send out a lot of shoes,” Mayhew explained. “We got a lot of feedback; it worked out really well and it taught me a lot about how that world works. I have always seen it from the outside, influencers and celebrities getting brand deals. But to see how it works from the inside was super interesting. It was a lot of fun!”
Soon after proving his talent and skill for this kind of work, Mayhew’s responsibilities at Ally were expanded to include pursuing and working on paid influencer deals and his supervisors were quick to see that his work ethic and his professional potential were worth holding on to.
“Braxton was an exceptional addition to our team and absolutely earned his place here,” said Sophia Pearl, communications associate and one of Braxton’s Ally site supervisors. “His contributions had an immediate impact. By reliably managing the foundational workload, he enabled our team to focus more deeply on strategy. I don’t know if this is something he fully realizes yet, but it’s a level of support that truly shaped the success of our work.”
As the end of the fall 2024 semester neared, Mayhew received an unexpected surprise from his internship site: a job offer for a paid, remote, part-time opportunity that Mayhew would be able to work into his class schedule throughout the spring 2025 semester. It was too big of an opportunity not to accept and, with it, has come the ability to set his own hours and to creatively pursue opportunities for clients with 100% autonomy.
“Having worked with several interns and peers in his age group, I can confidently say Mayhew carries himself with a maturity and work ethic that sets him apart,” Pearl added. “He shows up, gets the job done, and does so with a great attitude. He’s absolutely someone to watch in the next generation of the workforce and I’m confident he’ll thrive in whatever direction he takes next.”
That next step is Braxton’s plan to move back to Los Angeles after his graduation in spring 2026 and to continue his work for Ally, in-person again.
Experiential learning is at the core of the Elon University Los Angeles experience. The program offers students unique and immersive spring and summer programs that include academic courses taught by professors who work in the industry, site-based internship opportunities, alumni engagement, professional development and community service.
Study USA and National Campus Programs are offering two upcoming virtual information sessions on April 23, at 4:30 p.m. EST and May 5, at 4 p.m. EST for students interested in learning more about the spring 2026 Los Angeles experience. To participate in one or both of these sessions, contact Elon LA Program Assistant Macy Mills (mmills11@elon.edu) to register for the Zoom session. For information about Study USA opportunities, visit the Study USA website.