July 23, 2020 | The Day It Clicked!

July 23, 2020.

Up until this point, I had attended session after session trying to understand the working world of advertising and media agencies. I had asked hundreds of questions, taken pages on pages of notes and tried to understand as much as I could. But, it wasn't until this day that it finally clicked for me. Everything just made sense.

My MAIP discipline is SociaI Strategy. When I first heard this, I knew I could do the social part, but strategy? That I wasn't so confident in. I didn't really understand strategy or know that so many things we see on a daily basis are from strategists in cubicles (now their beds) making sure you see that specific ad that has influencers or colors that appeal to your generation.

The day before my lightbulb went off, I received an email from the National President of my sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The email said the sorority would be participating in a virtual protest to show solidarity for Keisha Lance Bottoms, mayor of Atlanta, who was being challenged by the Governor of Georgia for trying to enforce a city mask mandate. This is an issue I care heavily about and I knew our chapter had to participate. Luckily, as chapter president I got to make sure of it.

I had not even 24 hours to come up with a graphic and gather materials/photos for it. I worked into the early hours to get it done, but it eventually got there. I was so proud of the work I produced, and in such a short amount of time! It was posted on our social media just in time for the protest. Later on in the day, we received a shout out from the NATIONALS team. I was through the moon! As president of my local chapter, this was one of my presidency goals. I was so proud in this moment.

The next day, I reflected on my win. I realized I shouldn't be so confused when it comes to discussing strategy, because I was already doing it without even knowing it. I thought about the situation with a strategic perspective. Nationals came with an ask, a problem and reached out to chapters across the nation to provide deliverables. That's strategy! I hadn't even thought of it like this before. I thought to myself, maybe this world isn't too far from mine.

I walked into the rest of the program with a confidence I hadn't had before. Of course there's always more to learn, but I think I have more of a headstart than I truly know.