One More Makes a Dollar

There are 368 miles between where I'm sitting in Chappaqua, NY, my childhood home, and my house in Richmond, VA, the place where I’ve spent the last year and a half of my life molding and shaping myself into an ad man.

Three semesters of Brandcenter have come and gone, and in about 1 month we’ll return for our last one. One more semester before my 80-odd classmates and I are unleashed into the advertising world like a swarm of bees, some to sting, others to make honey.

Interpret those metaphors as you will.

Like the first 2 semesters in this place known as ad school, here's my take on the third:

Kelly O'Keeke's Culture & Communications- Kelly’s class was interesting, to say the least: We went to Monticello, saw an Italian Opera, sat with a chapel-full of old Jesus freaks, spent an evening at a motor speedway in McCain country, attended a lecture by NY Times writer Frank Rich, learned how to salsa dance, spoke with Georgian painters at the James River waterfront, listened to Alan Crawford discuss his book on Thomas Jefferson, learned everything there is to know about Muhammad Ali, visited a folk festival and went on a Friday evening art walk in the pouring rain. It was a great class. And despite the ironic and unreasonable fact that we had just as much work in it than our actual branding and portfolio classes, at least I got a book piece out of it.

Charles Hall's Portfolio Development- It’s been said before by previous classes and it will be said again by subsequent classes, but you give Charles two more years, and he will undoubtedly be the best professor at the Brandcenter. That he continuously learns how to be a better teacher from his students as much as we learn how to be better mass communicators from him is something I don’t doubt for a second. A lot of people dislike Charles’ way of teaching. They dislike his comments and his criticisms, his intense passion and his ardent conviction, his political correctness and his way of what many feel is him projecting his own thoughts. But I try to embrace all of it. Charles is one of those guys that, when giving criticism, will often rub you the wrong way. It’s happened to me numerous times this semester. But each time, as I listen to what he says to my classmates and I, I can’t help but realize two things:

1. He’s usually right.

2. He’s always, always looking out for our best interests.

Cabell Harris' Brand Campaigns- As a Cabell-second-timer, I've gotta say that I got a lot more out of this class than the first time around. The semester before this was a dozen projects, one week each, piled on top of each other in an endless barrage of what felt like suffocating crap. Amidst all our other classes, there was no time to fix anything, hone our crafts, or even put enough thought into something to make it worthwhile.

This semester was different.

Cabell is, in many ways, the opposite of a Charles Hall or a Coz in terms of his teaching style. Where Charles and Coz are passionately hands-on, Cabell prefers a more laid-back, laissez-faire approach. Where it often feels like other teachers push you on their behalf, with Cabell, you’re forced to push yourself on your own. And you’re forced to work with the freedom to do so. I enjoyed this freedom, as I got two of my favorite campaigns done at this school in his class. What Cabell lacks in intensity and pressure he makes up for in support and good-naturedness. These traits, in my eyes, are just as valuable. And are a welcome balance.

Peter Coughter's Presentation Skills- As someone who got a C in his last undergrad public speaking class, I entered this one with a strong sense of purpose. I was determined to make myself a better presenter, which, as Coughter himself says, is the difference between making it in this business and not. Whether I became a better presenter or not is something to be seen, but out of all the classes I’ve taken at this school, at least I enjoyed this one most. I think that comes from laughing harder than I ever have. Peter's not only a great teacher and a great guy, he's funny as hell.

The real world is 20 weeks away from today.

dubs. out.