Dinma Onyekwere gains industry insight

By Alixandra Rutnik on Jan 22, 2021

"I learned so much from the team at MullenLowe and I also saw a life and a journey that I could possibly take, which inspired me."

Mentor & Creative is a perfect opportunity for students to learn from and interact with advertising professionals while our lives are still heavily affected by covid-19. The winter session is coming up quick! The deadline to register for the Mentor & Creative winter session is this Sunday, January 24, 2021.

This program is a 6-week “computers-on” experience that connects a handful of our One Club student members and Young Ones’ winners with our corporate members. Students are assigned a client brief, an One Club open business brief, or a bespoke mentorship lesson by high-level creatives. At the end of the program, and after hours of hard creative work and thinking, students will have a polished campaign-based project to showcase in their portfolios or new-found knowledge to take with them in life.

We caught up with Dinma Onyekwere who participated in Mentor & Creative last summer. Dinma was paired with three mentors at MullenLowe Boston and her experience took on a more classic learning approach where she participated in weekly mentorship lessons.

Name: Dinma Onyekwere

Graduate School: VCU Brandcenter

Year: 2021

Degree: Creative Brand Managemnent

Agency: MullenLowe Boston

Mentors: Suzie Wyman, Kristen Cardon, and Bayla Werman

Client: Jet Blue

Why did you decide to apply to the TOC Summer 2020 Mentor & Creative program?

I applied because I just started a creative co-op with a few students at VCU Brandcenter and I was looking for people in the industry that could help guide me. I was also bummed out because I missed out on an internship opportunity last summer, but I still wanted to make connections within the industry.

What was your favorite part about the program?

Honestly, I had so much fun every week with this team– there was not one moment I enjoyed more than the other. I cherish all of the advice and lessons they taught me.

"Honestly, I had so much fun every week with this team– there was not one moment I enjoyed more than the other."

Let’s talk details on how the program worked week to week.

Every week we talked through the lessons for that day, which ranged from a day in the life of an account manager to what activation is and how it is implemented by the team. My mentors also offered me advice on situations I was dealing with at the creative co-op that really helped.

We discussed what they were working on and their plans– they showed me cool campaigns they’ve executed and what their professional roles look like. We spent a lot of time looking through the JetBlue activations and talking through the ones I liked and wanted to learn about.

Any advice that you would like to give to the next students who will be participating in the Spring 2021 Mentor & Creative Program?

Utilize your mentors, yes they are there to teach you things about the industry, but they can offer you life advice as well.

"Utilize your mentors, yes they are there to teach you things about the industry, but they can offer you life advice as well."

What was student life like on campus this semester?

At VCU Brandcenter, we are doing a hyflex option where some classes are online and others are in person. I think this works out only because our building is isolated from the main campus where we take all our classes.

Knowing that this is your final year of graduate school, what are some goals you have set for yourself?

I will be graduating from VCU Brandcenter in 2021 and my goal this year is to build my network and help the class below me navigate this industry as best as I can.

Describe this program in one sentence, GO!

I learned so much from the team at MullenLowe and I also saw a life and a journey that I could possibly take, which inspired me.