Another semester, another co-op, another amazing 4 months of adventures. I don’t even know how to begin to write this post because I don’t know how I am going to be able to put into words how thankful I am for the past 4 months.
During the summer when I was applying for internships, one of my goals was to not come back to SF (lol) since I had already lived here for 2 semesters. I wanted to live in a different city on the West Coast and experience the design scene and pace of a new city. However when I read the description for the internship on the Brand Marketing team at Thumbtack something drew me in and I applied saying if I get this one, this will be the only reason I go back to San Francisco.
From my first phone interview with Chi I was hooked and knew I wanted to work at Thumbtack. I never thought I would be so excited about an in-house role at a big company. I figured small agency life was for me and that was the realm I fit into in the design world. I was afraid of in-house design being monotonous, repetitive work where you typeset everything in the same font and had no play over creative at all. I feared it would just be pushing pixels. However, since Thumbtack is a newer company, they are still working on refining and developing their brand and working for them held so many opportunities to be a part of those big pushes. It’s mission also drew me in as they are focused on helping small businesses grow and giving people the tools to get things done faster and save time. The mission centers around people and not making money which I loved most of all. When I got offered the job, I figured what the heck, you haven’t worked in-house, you haven’t worked at a company bigger than 30 people, it seems pretty awesome - give it a go!
Spoiler alert, I freaking loved it. The ability to work with people from different teams on a variety of projects. The range of work. The mission. The fact that I could meet someone new everyday. The lunch, oh my goodness the lunch (TacKitchen kills it). The people. But my favorite part about working at Thumbtack was being apart of the Brand Marketing Team, who made Thumbtack feel like home from day 1. Everyday, I got to work with an insanely talented, passionate team of designers, copywriters, producers, photographers and videographers. From day 1, they welcomed me with so much love and support. They encouraged me to take on new tasks, to try new things, to explore my passions and to be experimental. Through this semester, I found a new confidence in my skills and myself and it was because of the environment these humans created. I am so proud of the work I was able to create with them, whether it was defining a new customer platform or planning the big studio shoot - working and collaborating with each of the team members was always fulfilling and always so much dang fun.
Thank you Thumbtack for the support, the encouragement, the creative space, the friendship, the jokes, the drinks and for your belief in me. And thank you for being the reason I came back to SF so I could remember how whole I feel in this city that has so much culture and is surrounded by so much magical wilderness. I can’t wait to be back after I graduate and keep creating, growing and learning with you.
Here is a collection of some of my favorites moments and memories from the semester (musings continued after):
1 amazing internship, 4 months, 4 roommates, 3 camping trips, 1 studio shoot, 8 face-swaps, 300 polaroids, 3 TV spots, 15 hikes, 5 waterfalls, 2 campfires, 80 hours of laughter, 1 work retreat, 4 sandcastles, 30 trees hugged, 3 plane trips, 8 mountains, 27 car jam sessions, 500 exclamations of YEET, 1 TaskMasters campaign, 1 freezing cold dip, 10 sunrises, 5 star-gazing nights, 10 rooftop sunsets, 1 epic sister road trip and so many more amazing memories. Holy cow has it been an amazing 4 months! Thank you to everyone who has had a part in it and has made me feel so alive and refreshed. I know I say it all the time, but I truly believe you can create the life you dream of. For me I am going to keep aiming to live a creative life that inspire others, spreading as much goodness as possible, and reminding people that magic is real if you know how to make it. I am heading back to Cincinnati for my last semester of University with a full heart and can’t wait to be back on the West Coast full time oh so soon.
Always - keleniak
#heckyaSF2