Monica Andrade Tests — And Tastes — Her Luck

By Alixandra Rutnik on Sep 09, 2020

Recent 'grad' from One Club's Mentorship program shares her experience


They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and that old phrase has proven to be true here at The One Club for Creativity, where the COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to move all of our programming online for the foreseeable future. Through ingenuity, determination and a whole lot of luck, we refashioned our award shows back in May and June, and are gearing up for a virtual Where Are All The Black People? conference next week.

Between these two big initiatives, however, another one flew in under the radar. Our annual Intern & Creative events — where recent grads can network and learn how to get the most out of their summer internships — were transformed into a Zoom-friendly Mentor & Creative program. The program was so well received that we are set to do it again in October, with applications due next Friday, September 25. You can learn more about that HERE.


The summer program was a 6-week “computers-on” experience that connected dozens of our One Club Student Members and Young Ones’ winners from around the world with a number of agencies and brands that are also One Club Corporate Members. Meeting with with their mentors every week, the students had the opportunity to work on briefs and get valuable advice on navigating their nascent careers. At the end of the program, students had polished campaign-based projects to showcase in their portfolios, and new-found knowledge to take with them in life.

One such student was Monica Andrade, who recently graduated from Miami Art School in March with a focus in Art. “I'm just a grad on the hunt for something rad," she exclaimed. "I’m open to any and all junior art director positions in the US!”

During our Summer Mentor & Creative session, Monica worked on a team with four other students: Xavi Ocaña, Jennifer Thelis, Nina Pateishvili, and Michael Vo. The five were mentored by Jackie Mucilli, Katie Cascio, and Meg Pearce from VIRTUE.

"I'm just a grad on the hunt for something rad. I’m open to any and all junior art director positions in the US!"

Monica and her team were given the challenge of coming up with an idea to help small businesses reopen; they chose Welcome to Chinatown — an organization that grew out of the pandemic to ensure Manhattan’s Chinatown restaurants survive — as their client. "We wanted to focus on a specific geographic location and help that community's small businesses thrive as they re-open after COVID,” she explains.

The team took the brief in the direction of Chinatown’s small restaurants and came up with “Taste of Luck,” a 'digital roulette' that you play on Seamless that tells you which restaurant to order your take-out from. “Taste of Luck invites people to take a chance on Chinatown's small businesses without the labels, by turning luck into a game," says Monica. "At first, the idea was about 'testing' your luck, but in the end, our idea evolved into something much deeper. The campaign is really about sharing your fortune with people you don't even know in your community. This year has taught us that it's up to us to create the change we want to see – together.” 

Monica and her team presented “Taste of Luck” to a handful of creatives at VIRTUE, but she and her team are hoping to have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to Welcome to Chinatown themselves. “I couldn't be happier with how the project came out and I'm so grateful to have been paired with the most bomb mentors. They were always so inspiring and gave the best feedback,” she said.

"I couldn't be happier with how the project came out and I'm so grateful to have been paired with the most bomb mentors. They were always so inspiring and gave the best feedback."

Monica also has some sage advice for the next group of students involved in The One Club’s Fall Mentor & Creative program. “Always be willing to kill your 'darlings' and accept all the feedback given to you. Working with many people can be tricky, but don't try to take on every role. It's important to divide and conquer the work.”

“Always be willing to kill your “darlings” and accept all the feedback given to you. Working with many people can be tricky, but don't try to take on every role. It's important to divide and conquer the work.”

Post-college is a tricky time for all students, and it is especially tough for the class of 2020, but Monica has a positive attitude when talking about her future. She laughed and said, “currently, I'm focused on creating more fun side projects and digitally painting portraits. Before the year ends though, I need to get around to crocheting stuffed kittens using the kit I got as a gift (crazy cat-less lady over here). Oh, and most importantly, I hope to land my first junior art director job soon! Fingers crossed!”

MONICA ANDRADE'S PORTFOLIO

 


Are you a One Club Member and/or a Young Ones Winner who is interested in applying for our 6-week Mentor & Creative Fall session? The deadline to apply is Friday, September 25.

APPLY NOW!

 


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