I've had lots of summer jobs. I was a dishwasher at a nursing home, a checker at a grocery store, a nanny, an intern at a law office, an art camp counselor and a piano teacher. I've even had summer jobs related to what became my career. I designed ads for a newspaper and I assisted the marketing VP at a stereo store.
In the days before Spotify, we used to play CDs on stereo systems to listen to music. Places that sold stereo systems were popular. People would browse and listen for hours to find the right one for them. I do not miss those days. Those big stereo systems were NOT portable.
This summer I had the opportunity to step in for a limited time as designer at Groq while their lead designer was out on medical leave. I worked with a top-notch team and learned a lot. I had to just jump in the deep end with no direction. The creative director was also out my first week and the monthly Board of Directors meeting was a day away. The chief of staff relied heavily on a designer to get it all buttoned up and in July - I was that designer. I discovered that the BoD and the All-Hands monthly meetings required at least one or two very late nights to prepare for - and the team appreciated that I was up to the task.
My contract was extended an extra month, but now it's about up. I'm finishing up the last couple of social media tiles and some infographics for an article. I wanted to say good-bye and thank you to the team I worked with so closely for months. I'd connected to several Groqstars (what employees call themselves) on LinkedIn, so I posted my thank you there. I was completely overwhelmed by the response. Likes (and loves) from so many of them including the CEO, with some really nice comments as well.
I captured the thread for my 'scrapbook' and here seems an appropriate place to store the memories. Would that every designer be so lucky to have a summer job like I did with Groq.
Check out some of the work I did for Groq.
