Majorly Multifaceted: Academic Diversity in AAF
It’s no secret: AAF students are enamored with advertising. It’s in the name, after all. But with over 500 majors, there’s bound to be more than a few people with different interests.
AAF members with diverse majors help agencies bring together various academic backgrounds, interests, and build connections among related fields.
Below are just a few AAF members from non-advertising majors that contribute to our club’s unique and creative population:
Ed West - Creative Writing major/Media minor
Ed West has been a part of multiple AAF agencies including Adbuzz, On the House, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, Midnight Oil and the National Student Advertising Competition.
He first fell in love with advertising after learning about AAF in ADV 150. West then reached out to the club's president at the time.
“He answered [my questions] in such detail, and that was a catalyst for me to be an active member,” said West.
Years later, West is now Illinois AAF’s Chief Strategy Officer with a marketing job at Apple’s Claris lined up for next year. He says his experience in AAF directly contributed to one of his internship opportunities.
West was a Marketing Communications intern at Apple this past summer, and said the recruiter who discovered him found him through key words in AAF activities on his resume including “copywriter” and “strategist.”
“AAF opens doors by giving students tangible experience that transfers to the real world,” said West.
Manny Tinajero - Interdisciplinary Health Sciences major/Critical Film Production minor
Manny Tinajero discovered AAF through the College of Media’s “Get Involved” page. He joined On the House, CTRL+V and AdLab as a freshman this fall.
Tinajero planned on majoring in Media and Cinema Studies, but began looking into majors that had more opportunities for creative work. He says AAF applies to his future career because of the opportunities to learn new softwares like Adobe Suite. He plans on switching to the advertising major in the future.
“I didn’t know you could be creative and work in post-production in advertising until I learned more about AAF,” said Tinajero. “The agencies are what really drew me, especially CTRL+V, which is the production agency, and now I’m really excited to keep working on my own and hopefully work in the creative side of advertising.”
Karolina Usaviciute - Political Science major/Media minor
Karolina Usaviciute is a CTRL+V member and the RSVP account manager for Japan House. She joined AAF her sophomore year after taking a couple of advertising courses.
Usaviciute wanted to get involved with an RSO and was drawn by AAF’s wide array of creative opportunities. She hopes to use her AAF experience to work in consulting, media or at an advertising agency in the future.
She says her experience in AAF fostered an interest in the strategic communications of different campaigns and businesses. In relation to political science, Usaviciute is interested in the way media influences how the public operates.
“I think this issue will become more important as technology progresses,” she said, “And the type of general and political media younger consumers are most influenced by will evolve the entire media landscape we live in.”
Jacob Davidson - Media and Cinema Studies major/Communications and Critical Film Production minors
Jacob Davidson is part of the CTRL+V agency at AAF. He first discovered AAF through friends that recommended he join a media creation department within the club.
“I chose to join AAF to expand my knowledge of media making and become an asset in producing great content for the organization,” said Davidson.
Davidson hopes his experience in AAF will help his application stand out due to the editing skills learned through CTRL+V.
Payton Jarzyna - English major
Payton Jarzyna discovered AAF via Professor Hall’s recommendation in ADV 150. She is currently a copywriter for Midnight Oil and attends AdLab meetings. She said she chose to join AAF after the first meeting because it seemed to have lots of opportunities that could introduce her to other career paths.
“Being in AAF has given me copywriting experience that could help me in the future,” said Jarzyna. “It has also helped me learn how to work in a team better.”
Jarzyna said her participation in AAF has also helped her make connections, develop a resume and LinkedIn page, and discover internship opportunities.
Caroline Thies - Psychology major
Thies is part of the AdBuzz agency and joined AAF this semester to learn more about the intersection between psychology and advertising. She learned about the club through Professor Hall’s ADV 150 class.
“Being in AAF has already taught me a lot about being on a team and working professionally for a client, both of which are things I hope my future career will entail,” said Caroline Thies.
Thies hopes to pursue either a dual degree in Psychology and Advertising with a business minor, or a dual degree in Psychology and Business with a Public Relations minor.
Ali Nitti - Graphic Design, Advertising majors/Public Relations minor
Ali Nitti transferred to the University of Illinois in Fall 2019 and discovered AAF at Quad Day that year. She has been involved with Pangaea and On the House, and the National Student Advertising Competition.
She joined AAF to be more involved within the advertising community and practice design skills in an agency setting. She said her experiences at AAF have helped her work and gain perspective from interaction with other advertising students.
“Joining NSAC has been beneficial in helping me understand the steps that need to be taken in order to produce a whole campaign,” said Nitti. “It has also given me the opportunity to step outside of my design bubble and explore more of the advertising and strategy side of things.”
Lana Hammoud - Business major/Public Relations minor
Lana Hammoud discovered AAF via recommendation from a current member. She joined in Fall 2021, and plans to use her AAF experience to work for a public relations company in marketing or advertising.
These are only some of AAF’s members who bring a diverse skill set to their agencies and work. AAF houses and benefits students from any major, and in turn its unique population continues to grow and advance the chapter itself.
