Thinking about Geile/Leon, there’s one word that keeps coming back into my head over and over again: genuine.
When I first stepped into the G/L office located in The Hill, I was a nervous graphic design major looking for a summer internship. I glanced around the colorful, artfully-designed room and the creative people buzzing about. Whelp, I’m in way over my head, I thought, somebody, please, get me out of here.
That’s about when Dave Geile walked up to me, shook my hand and invited me into his office to talk. After just a few minutes of conversation filled with more than a few genuine laughs and smiles, my nervousness had completely melted away, and I knew that I’d found the perfect place to spend my summer, and the perfect people to spend it with.
So, now, here I am, finishing up my last few days at Geile/Leon before packing my car and driving back to school. But, before I go, I must share at least a little bit about my fantastic summer here.
When I imagined interning for a summer, I figured, “here come days filled with fetching coffee and sitting around bored.” I thought that the cliche portrayal of internships was cliche for a reason. But at Geile/Leon, on my very first day I was learning about and helping with PR projects and hearing about everything that the graphic designers had in mind for my summer. At lunch, they poured into me over tacos at a local restaurant, asking about what I had learned at school, what kind of work I wanted to do, and discussing different ways that they could help me grow as a designer and professional. I didn’t feel like an intern – I felt like a colleague.
Throughout this summer, I’ve had opportunities to design, to sit in on creative meetings, and to learn more than I ever could’ve hoped to. I’ve been blown away by the incredible talent and creativity of the people that work here, which are perhaps most evident during brainstorming sessions, of which I’ve loved every second. Through status meetings and lunches, it’s been a joy to be a part of the jokes and day-to-day activities that make an office like this one so special.
The graphic designers spent time looking over and providing feedback on my designs, teaching me some tricks of the trade concerning layouts in different advertising pieces, the nuances behind producing a logo for a company, the significance of contrast for organization, and so much more. I’m excited to be able to take my new knowledge and skills back to college with me, so that I can keep growing in my graphic design courses.
Even more than taking my skills back to college, I am thrilled to know that I love the world of marketing. Spending time in the office has taught me more about what real-world graphic design will be like than any class at college could. I find designing fun, of course, but designing for a purpose is so much more exciting. The process becomes a puzzle of how you can combine creativity with mandatory elements to solve client marketing challenges in unexpected ways. It’s a challenge that I delight in.
I can confidently say that I have and always will cherish my time spent at Geile/Leon this summer. I will miss working with each and every one of the genuine, hard-working, talented, and inspiring employees that work here.
