The strategic communications major is spending the summer with the Durham-based advertising agency, where he hopes to make lasting connections.
Four years ago, Alex Arrasmith ’28 got an early glimpse into agency life while shadowing employees at McKinney, a Durham-based advertising agency. This summer, he returned to the firm not as an observer, but as one of 10 interns selected from a pool of more than 2,000 applicants for the agency’s highly competitive internship program.
The strategic communications major is serving as a strategy and account intern, where he rotates between McKinney’s strategy and account teams. With a few weeks of the internship behind him, Arrasmith said the transition has been seamless thanks to the strong sense of community at the agency.
“Everyone here is so welcoming,” Arrasmith said. “Even though I’m the youngest person both in the agency and in my internship class, I don’t feel out of place.”
Arrasmith said McKinney has been on his radar for years. After his early exposure to the agency, he regularly checked the company’s internship page in hopes of one day earning a spot in the program.
As an account management and strategy intern, Arrasmith helps bridge communication between the agency and its clients. While the role has introduced new challenges, he arrived with a foundation built through classroom experiences and leadership roles at Elon.
For the past two years, Arrasmith has been involved with Live Oak Communications, Elon’s student-run communications agency.
Arrasmith has served as an account supervisor with Live Oak and credits the organization for preparing him for the fast-paced agency environment.
“I feel I have a good grasp of what’s going on and what people are talking about,” he said.
While familiar with agency work, Arrasmith said the internship has broadened his understanding of how different departments collaborate to serve clients.
He’s also gained exposure to an industry he knew little about before arriving at McKinney. Working with the agency’s health division has required him to learn healthcare terminology, pharmaceutical companies and industry-specific concepts.
“I didn’t know anything about health or pharma, so it’s been a lot of just taking the time afterward to educate myself,” he said.
Despite the learning curve, Arrasmith said the experience has reinforced the value of curiosity and continuous learning.
“I found great success in just always asking questions, always wanting to learn the most I can about a subject, because that shows people that you are interested, you’re engaged, and you actually care about what you’re doing,” he said.
As he enters his third year at Elon, Arrasmith hopes to leave the internship with meaningful relationships across the agency, developing a network he can lean on for guidance. To make that happen, he has set a personal goal of taking at least 10 colleagues out to lunch before the summer ends.