On the Job Day 1: First Impressions

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Today was my first day at Buchanan&associates, a Columbus, Ohio, advertising agency. I am spending the week in residence thanks to Texas Tech University's College of Mass Communications Partners in Scholars program.

The program sends academics back into industry so that they can bring more real world to the classroom.

Although I am exhausted from the trip and the switch to eastern time, it was a very energizing day.

It is refreshing to have a new perspective on some of my ideas. I really enjoyed presenting some of our work, and I designed two new studies on the side today (remembering them until I get home is another matter).

In a plug for my hosts, the agency seems to be a great place to work, and their intense focus on strategy is inspiring. The entire organization seems to have bought into many of the things that we try to teach undergraduates.

It's also pretty awesome to have an engaged audience. Unlike the disinterested classroom, everyone at my talk seemed genuinely interested in how the ideas could help them do their jobs.
If our students were as interested in what we teach, the classroom would be a lot more enjoyable.