Hi. I’m Tatum, yes like Channing Tatum. I’ve been working as a copy intern at SCRATCH for two months, and it has been pretty darn spectacular.

First off, the office space is warm and spacious. There’s always food, and sometimes there are dogs (this is very important). My chair is comfy, and it has wheels, so I can roll into meetings! Outside the office is cool too; Liberty Village is an exciting area to work in. I’ve never spent time here before so it’s fun to explore the Carpet Factory and all the restaurants nearby. (Also, lots of dogs in the area.)

The office atmosphere is a warm and inviting as the office. The people here are kind, funny, and genuine. There’s no pretension. Those of us who are nerds wear that badge proudly with desks decked out with various paraphernalia, and those of us that aren’t, well, we all are. Let’s not kid ourselves. We go out for lunch, we go on group outings (we saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on my second day), and we poke fun at each other, always in a loving way. Not to mention, everyone in the office is immensely talented and hardworking. Everyone wears multiple hats and is happy to lend a helping hand, ear, or eye to anyone with a problem to solve, and the problem always gets solved, and then celebrated with donuts.

All this aside, the best part about being an intern at SCRATCH is that no one treats me like the “intern.” I have never fetched coffee or office supplies. From day one, my colleagues have treated me as a valuable team player, editing and proofreading proposals and creative copy. After day one, editing and proofreading turned into brainstorming and writing. I’ve written copy for our website (check out the latest additions to the portfolio section!), our social media, and for our clients’ websites. I’ve contributed writing to upcoming marketing campaigns, RFPs, brand guidelines, and more. Razi taught me about SEO content, and once I had the basics down, I wrote some of that for our site and for clients’ sites too. I sit in on briefing meetings, and weekly sessions about our social output, and my opinion and English major editing eye is always appreciated and respected.

My only qualm, and it’s small, is that there are times when I have little to do, but that too has been a learning experience. It forces me to not just twiddle my thumbs, but offer help, brainstorm new ideas, and do some more research on our clients. I have learned a lot from the team at SCRATCH. I’ve learned about the advertising industry, SCRATCH as an agency, and what working in an agency is like. I already feel I have improved immensely as a result of the team’s guidance, and whatever comes next, I’ll be indebted to them, especially Elan, for seeing my potential and bringing me on board.

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Author: Tatum Shiff