The Multicultural Advertising Internship Program is a fellowship that connects students to mentors, agencies and real-world projects.
By Kaia Mikulka, class of '25
The Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP) is a summerlong fellowship that connects students of multicultural backgrounds with paid internships and summer housing if needed. The program is not well known, but it can be a life-changer for those who qualify.
MAIP is hosted by the 4A’s Foundation, the largest nonprofit organization serving to connect diverse talent to opportunities in the advertising industry.
It offers a host of benefits, including pre-internship workshops to familiarize students with the industry, personal coaches and mentors who work in the industry, a team campaign project with other MAIP fellows and a post-internship networking event with some of the nation’s top advertising executives.
It serves as a hub for lasting connections with talented individuals from across the United States, a safe space where mentors answer questions about the industry — which can sometimes feel huge and confusing — and opportunities for fellows to get their names out to agencies across the nation.
I participated in MAIP last summer and am an official 4A’s MAIP 2024 alum after working as an art director intern at Mckinney in Los Angeles. This is my interview with fellow SOJC Duck Elizabeth Briese ’24, who was a 2024 MAIP fellow with me. She interned for Sony Music Entertainment’s distribution company The Orchard in New York City.
Kaia Mikulka: How did you find out about MAIP advertising internship, and what drew you to apply for it?
Elizabeth Briese: I found out about MAIP from my peers in the National Association of Black Journalists and Taking Up Space, two BIPOC clubs in the UO School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC). I believe this was around my sophomore year.
KM: What was the application process like for you?
EB: The application process was a lot less intimidating than others made it out to be. Writing personal statements and answering questions about what I was looking for came naturally to me, but I also had to create a video, and that caught me off guard. It was a fun way to spice up and talk up my experiences in a way that showed my personality beyond what I put down on a piece of paper.
KM: What is something you remember that stuck with you from the advertising internship workshops?
EB: Something that stuck with me was a seminar from this person at TikTok, who used to work at ad agencies. She said “stay hungry, not thirsty.” In a world of advertising that’s centered around “who you know,” it’s emphasized to prioritize your network and the people around you to help you advance in your career. This can lead to inorganic relationships and a feeling of “thirstiness” where it’s such a fake relationship. Therefore, staying hungry is a way to say “stay curious, open minded and willing to learn — and let people know that.”
KM: How was the experience with your team? Do you feel like the team project was valuable to your career?
EB: I think our team dynamic was really eye opening for me, knowing how educated people were about art direction, design or project management at such younger ages or earlier grades in college. We all went to different universities across the country, so seeing how we interacted and what we could bring to the table was super fun. I’ll say as someone who didn’t study ad directly and didn’t work at an ad agency, I found the project beneficial to my career because it gave me a real or “valid” experience in campaigns that I didn’t get in school.
KM: What is a piece of advice you would give someone who is a newly admitted MAIP fellow?
EB: Write. Everything. Down. Emails, phone numbers, names, advice, notes, etc. And be a forever student — you don’t know everything and you never will. Be open minded and willing to take risks in a new environment. You only have that one summer, so make the most of it. Also, just because you got your foot in the door, doesn’t mean that everything else will come to you — it’s easy to fall into this mentality. Instead, recognize this is the first major stepping stone in your career and that there’s still a lot more work to do.
MAIP is a 22-week fellowship consisting of pre-internship virtual classes intended to prepare students for the industry, hosted during UO’s spring term, a 10-week paid internship (hybrid, remote and full-time options are offered), a team project and live, virtual professional development sessions during the summer, followed by a post-internship networking event. To apply, students need to be from a multicultural background, have a GPA of at least 3.0 and be a college junior, senior or grad student. The application costs $25 and consists of writing samples, portfolio submission, a project if applying for a creative position and an application video. The deadline to apply is Dec. 9, 2024.
Kaia Mikulka, class of ’25, is an advertising major, a member of the School of Journalism and Communication direct-admit program, and a business minor. She comes from an artist’s background, and her passions lie in combining art with marketing to foster a better world.