(Editor’s Note: This is the ninth in a series of stories about internships being completed by students in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications.)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With a little bit of curiosity and enthusiasm, it’s easier to tackle the unknowns of college, and Madison Sung has plenty of those key intangibles, along with a strong work ethic.
That combination of skills has helped her find a major, get connected on campus, thrive in a summer internship and generally just find success at Penn State.
Sung, a rising senior majoring in advertising/public relations from Connecticut, has been working this summer as an advertising sales intern for the NEXT Team at the social media company X (formerly Twitter). She works every day in New York City and has embraced the challenges and opportunities of the internship while learning more about the communications industry.
The NEXT team is made up of strategists, creatives, technologists, producers, and data experts who create innovative and engaging ad campaigns for the company’s advertising partners.
A core part of Sung’s role has been enhancing the team’s efficiency by operationalizing knowledge sharing, and ensuring there is consistency across their go-to resources. Additionally, she has been deeply involved in developing a compelling pitch tailored for brands in the consumer packaged goods vertical, aiming to help them activate on X in ways that align with their current market opportunities.
“When I came to Penn State, I’m not sure I knew that much about advertising. But there have been so many opportunities to connect, grow and learn. It’s been great,” she said. “The internship has been the same in a lot of ways.
“We’ve worked with creatives, data experts, strategists and more. I’ve learned so much, and one of the big things has been that you don’t necessarily need to be at a creative agency to use those kinds of skills. You can be creative in sales, too.”
Sung is working toward minors in Chinese and in digital media trends and analytics as a complement to her major.
On campus she’s a member of the Ad/PR Club and was part of the American Advertising Federation competition team that advanced to the national finals earlier this year. She said she hopes to have a bigger role with that group going forward. This fall she’ll put her graphic design skills to use working for CommAgency, the student led agency housed in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, and for Penn State Athletics.
Assistant Teaching Professor Ron Smith said it’s easy to appreciate Sung’s hard-working approach. He taught a creative strategies course that Sung said helped her appreciate the impact of graphic design.
“She’s responsible and always follows through on things,” Smith said. “She’s committed to learning more, getting better and trying things. She’s enterprising, too. She’s not going to sit back. She’s going to give things a try.”
Her on-campus involvement and the internship typify Sung’s approach. She’s worked to make the most of meetings, shadowing opportunities and any opportunity to bolster her skillset.
She has big goals for her final year at Penn State — and they do not include coasting to the finish line.
“It’s my last year, so I want to do everything and be a part of everything,” she said.