Tales from Sixty Weeks and Beyond

“I came to understand my creativity would be helped, not undermined, by engaging with the business side of the industry.”

“The VCU Brandcenter has presented me with opportunities from unexpected places. “

“We had 24 hours. “

“Leave them with something to remember you by.”

“What do you want people to think when they engage with your product?”

“MYTH: You cannot work while at Brandcenter. “

“My first question was: how am I going to pay for this?”

“It was here I learned to ask: what is the truth about the brand?”

“I first heard about the VCU Brandcenter when I was a sophomore at JMU.”

 “It’s gonna be a tough two years.”

“I think the Brandcenter experience is like a roller coaster in that you have this nervous/excited feeling of going up, up, up- and you know you’re going to come tumbling down at some point, but you look forward to it. “

“I feel like I’m going to be stuck on a project 3 years from now and something Fenske said will suddenly click in my head.”

“I got to work on a Super Bowl spot my first year in the industry.”

“Professor Fenske calls it “building steel,” and it’s the mark of a Brandcenter student.”

“I thought the hard part was getting accepted.”

“My husband and I had four weeks to move 2 dogs, 2 kids, and a swing set from Harrisonburg to Richmond.”

“Everyone agreed about setting high standards from the start.”

“Looking back, I’m glad I made the decision to go to grad school after undergrad.”

“The VCU Brandcenter culture promotes helping each other.”

“I knew it was a huge gamble- 2 years full-time, student loans, and fear of missing out on other opportunities that I wouldn’t be pursuing for that time.”

“Today’s schedule at @VCU_Brandcenter 1. Tap dance for Snapchat 2. Research candy bars 3. Research dog bars 4. Dental hygiene focus group.”

“I have found that even knowing what questions to ask will give you a head start in everything.”

“Although born on different edges of the world, we quickly became family when we met at that boot camp.”

“Getting to be a part of that experience made me curious about the mysterious Brandcenter.”

“The Brandcenter catapults you into the middle of the galaxy with nothing but an oxygen tank and 99 other clueless space cadets.”

“Initially I had to adjust to the creative focus of the program; it is a far cry from the rigid and systematized nature of financial commodities trading.”

“I need to get better, I scribbled. “

“The VCU Brandcenter doesn’t just make exceptions for ‘non-traditional’ applicants like myself, it actively pursues them.”

“All first year students, including myself, were invited by the 2nd years to a small shindig in the final days before the start of school.”

“I never planned to go to grad school, yet fate firmly decided otherwise.”

“The VCU Brandcenter is more than just advertising.”

“The truth is, we’re usually scared shitless when we present.”

“I thought I could break into this industry on my own. I was right.”

“My time here has not been without personal challenges.”

“The diversity of my classmates is what makes working with each new group so much fun.”

“I was supposed to be a physical therapist.”

“This job is a marathon, not a sprint.”

“I’ve learned something through this process: how to think.”

“I spent most of 2015 developing a TV show for Adult Swim.”

“They embraced it, and I became the agency’s first-ever Innovation Strategist.”

“A lot of us came to the VCU Brandcenter wicked nervous and alone.”

“The more fearless I became, the more opportunities started opening up for me.”

“A panic ensued as no one could get a freelancer in so late.”