Great internships aren’t easy to come by, but…

Ten crowded seats at the kitchen. Nine windows. Eight standing chairs. Seven inspirational posters. Six whiteboards. Five work stations. Four conference rooms. Three black bins of snacks. Two couches. One foosball table…

… and a valley of MacBooks.

These iconic novelties come to mind when thinking of my time here at Figmints.

But what’s more important?

The people I got to interact with every day here.

Being the youngest intern in Figmints history, I was definitely set up for a pleasant surprise when I first joined the team.

I’ll be honest: I was slightly nervous with all of the new faces. Yet, I quickly adjusted to the great team of intelligent, energetic, and hard-working people here.

In order to share this remarkable experience with you to the fullest, I’ll give you a quick snapshot into each team member’s individual qualities and how they all fit together like puzzle pieces.

Let’s start with James, one of the most down-to-earth CEOs I’ve ever met. Full of creative ideas and never hesitating to celebrate with a mountain of delicious food, James will never cease to challenge one of his teammates and is always up for a challenge himself.

James & Me

We’ve also got Nick, our account manager, who never fails to holler a “Good Morning, Xilian!” even when walking into the office on a dreary, Monday morning. Being the social butterfly he is, Nick knows exactly how to please the people we work with, facilitate a successful client meeting, and keep everything organized.

Put your hands together for our MVP, Mike, whose fine balance of both professionalism and humor keeps the team on track towards finishing projects on time. Wondering how we scored a new client? It’s probably Mike’s doing.

There’s our sweetheart, Kayla, who we couldn’t survive without (literally because she’s in charge of ordering food, snacks, water, and other necessities) and brings her positive charisma to anyone who connects with her throughout the day.

Full of energy, advice, and obscure words, we have John, our copywriter and brand strategist. Always putting his best foot forward in his multiple responsibilities here at Figmints, John is your source for both jokes and inspirational conversations.

Next, we have our Figmints veteran who’s outlasted all of us. Tim’s kind and selfless demeanor shines through in both his work and his connections with all of us. In addition, his positivity seldom diminishes even after editing videos for 14+ hours.

Aside from knowing how to design a banging logo, Chapman is full of creative ideas and is always open to new ones as well. While maintaining his cool style, Chap keeps a keen eye on all the designs that leave the office and is always down for talking about traveling, life, or good movies.

Being both young and experienced at Figmints, Ian is always ready to handle a big job. Among the many positive adjectives that could be used to describe Ian, he’s intelligent, practical, funny, and our go-to guy for anything code related.

Next, we’ve got PJ (yes, he exists). Along with the great design he produces, “Peege” never fails to have a funny story to tell whenever you need a pickup. Just don’t get fooled by his shark attack story.

A crazy farewell lunch filled with laughter and Thai food

Now that I’ve described everybody, I’d like to…oh wait! We still have the interns.

Currently a student at New England Institute of Technology, Tyler is our ambitious (and quite humorous) web development guy. Never afraid to spark a conversation, Tyler is a great storyteller and has no problem taking someone out for a beer.

From creating jaw-dropping CTAs to sharp résumé templates, Sean always impresses us with his artistic creations. As a Rhode Island School of Design student, Sean is your go-to resource when you need any blog illustrations or if you’ve just got a creative block.  

And of course, there’s the intern who taught me everything about working here at Figmints. Introducing me on my first day, Nate walked me through how to use Basecamp, Slack, Harvest, and, wait for it…  WordPress (which some of you may know is a pain to learn). Nate’s not only savvy at computers and web design, but is also skilled at branding and logo design. A fast learner, Nate will get it done, and get it done well.

As you can see, interning at Figmints was anything but a boring desk job. In fact, I didn’t even sit at a desk most of the time. I stood here:

The Beloved Standing Desk

Each day had its own surprise. Some days, I would help set up for a photo shoot with Tim, or have a “New Biz” brainstorming meeting over Tacos with the team. If there wasn’t an RFP meeting scheduled on my calendar with Mike, or a meeting about one of our subsidiaries with James, I’d still look forward to going on our daily Market Basket runs.

On top of just work, we also have team get-togethers where we ditch our computers and chat about other matters. For example, we have an activity every other Friday called “Native Creative” (yes, we branded that name too) where we gather on the couches and TV and discuss cool trends on the internet. During the two weeks leading up to Native Creative, everyone on the team posts cool websites (usually with groundbreaking UI UX design), hilarious blogs *cough* *John*, and new logos *cough* *Chapman* in our Native Creative group chat on Slack.

East Side Pockets as a Goodbye Present to Nate

I was lucky enough to have my internship land on one of the State of the Fig meetings we do quarterly. As a group, we drove from our Pawtucket office down to 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar & Grille on the wharf in Newport. We spent the afternoon and evening talking about where our company was as a whole, what our goals were, and where we’re headed. After a couple drinks out under the sun at the oceanside bar, we bonded with (and roasted) each other.

So where am I going with all of this?

Walking into Suite #101, I didn’t even know what copywriting was, what SEO entailed, or what “Inbound Marketing” even meant. Through the relationships I’ve built over the past two months, I cannot only proudly define all those terms, but utilize them in my daily tasks. I not only contributed to the growth of Figmints as an agency, but Figmints truly contributed to my growth as a young professional.

At Figmints, my abilities to succinctly answer an RFP, write an effective blog, or strategize for new clients escalated to a whole new level. The best part about this is that Figmints has already provided me with a powerful network of people, and has equipped me with all of this valuable knowledge (both in marketing and in working at an agency in general) before I start my Freshman year as an International Business major at Northeastern University this September.

Working at Figmints full-time as a recent high school graduate has inspired me to reach for job opportunities in the future similar to Figmints– a place where I can be challenged, and most importantly, be myself.

Looking to join our team? Checkout our careers page (in our main menu) or learn what a digial marketing agency does.