A Blank Slate: How AdLab is Inspiring Students—Including Myself

It’s time for advertising students to gear up for the new school year. With the new year comes new classes, new projects, new programs to learn and, most importantly, new opportunities. 

AdLab is an education-based agency where members of American Advertising Federation (AAF) can learn how to use the Adobe Creative Cloud, including programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, and InDesign, to name a few. 

Catherine Arreazola, who is a senior in advertising at the U of I, is eager to teach students how to start their creative careers. She mentioned that she “loves teaching and helping people in any way that she can.” Her enthusiasm to help students learn and prosper is one of the reasons why I, myself, was able to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.

As an advertising student, it can be overwhelming when considering a career path. When I was first introduced to the field, I was torn. Did I want to go into the account side of advertising? Possibly. What about the creative side? Again, possibly. Fast forward three years, and I’m still deciding on which path to ultimately pursue. Granted, I have some career ideas, but what it all boils down to is what experience have I gained and how can I use it going forward?

So with that in mind, I attended the first AdLab meeting in hopes of learning more about Adobe programs (just in case I ultimately decide I want to pursue a creative career in advertising). Like most students who attend AdLab, I walked into the meeting with limited to no knowledge of Adobe programs. It’s no secret that these programs are complicated, and trying to learn them is quite the feat.

However, as overwhelming as they may seem, I entered AdLab with an optimistic attitude. Although I did seat myself in the back of the classroom, I was willing to devote time in order to learn. It helped to have Catherine who was in charge of teaching us. With her charismatic and welcoming attitude, it suddenly seemed like it might be easy to explore this new realm of advertising. Well, maybe not so much the software itself, but overall she eased the process of us getting started. 

Catherine started off the meeting by introducing the Adobe program, Illustrator. She gave a rundown to students on how to download the program, set up advanced options, and eventually how to create. As she was explaining to students how to use Illustrator, I witnessed from the back of the room, colors, pictures, logos, and drawings began to appear on each student's screen. A clean slate or, in this case, a blank screen, which was once hindering AdLab attendees and myself, is now something I look forward to. 

 So as the school year kicks off, consider starting something new. Try something you've wanted to do but have been reluctant. Look at that clean slate and the infinite possibilities it holds. Because at the end of the day, starting is the hardest part, but once you get past it is when the magic takes over. 

Thank you to Catherine and AAF Illinois for allowing students like me to explore their interests, regardless of their past experience. 

It is never too late to start.