by Lydia Dexter, ADPR student from Davey, Nebraska
Logan John knew next to nothing about her major before choosing it. The 2018 alumna chose advertising and public relations because it sounded cool. She knew she was good at writing, but was unsure how to make a career out of it. But when she was pushed to the limit in her creative concept class, she knew she had chosen the right major.
“The class actually really made me mad,” John said. “I thought my ideas were bad, but it wasn’t that. I just had to delve deep to find the right ones.”
And delve deep she did.
John realized that the only way she would get what she wanted in life was to go after it herself. Having no experience didn’t stop John from applying for an interactive strategy internship at a major advertising agency, Swanson Russell, in Lincoln, Nebraska. The agency is known for its involvement in campaigns such as “Bryanologist” with Bryan Health and “American to the Core” with Leupold. John went into the internship willing to learn and willing to be flexible, showing her employers she was the right person for the job.
But with graduation quickly approaching, John was unsure of what the future might hold.
“I was wholly and absolutely consumed with the idea of finding a job,” John said. “Luckily, I had a lot of good people in my corner, like my boss and mentor Casey Mills.”
Mills helped John to realize her potential in her new position. One of Swanson Russell’s major goals is to develop its interns into sharp, competitive professionals by the time they leave.
“Logan was a pleasure to work with,” Mills said. “Making the leap from student to intern to full-time professional is challenging, and Logan has handled it very well.”
Mills also helped John to realize that continuing to work at Swanson Russell in traditional public relations roles just wasn’t the right fit for her. Instead, Mills had connected with John with Hurrdat, a new, innovative company that was hiring.
Hurrdat is the social media arm of an interactive company, Hurrdat Digital, based in Omaha. John works as a social media strategist in Lincoln with a small team. The environment of Hurrdat is different than what John was used to at Swanson Russell. John said her work space is more laid back and collaborative, with each staff member being able to bounce ideas off the next.
Each day at Hurrdat is a little different for John. She works with different clients to create content that will help to create a long-lasting brand. John is involved in synthesizing clients’ analytics, writing, posting and scheduling content and making sure to include the clients through personalized meetings along the way.
As for her favorite client, John says the best one is Hurrdat itself.
“The biggest challenge of my job is telling the story of a client that I’m not familiar with,” John said. “But with Hurrdat, I already know the story. I get to tell the story of all these lovely people I’m surrounded by all the time.”
John has some advice for others in the advertising and public relations major. She has learned how important it is to know your self-worth when searching for jobs. John said people need to make sure they are enough for their employers, but that their employers are enough for them, too.
“Be flexible and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty,” John said. “But make sure you are happy, too.”
