Adobe Interns Mean Business
Story contributed by Morgan Starkey (Studio Writer Intern) & Elise DeCristoforo (Employee Communications Intern)
Last week we featured some of the brilliant tech interns behind some of Adobe’s amazing technologies. However, here at Adobe we pride ourselves in having fulfilling internships in both tech and non-tech spaces. Hear what some of our non-tech interns worked on this Summer and what they most enjoyed about their #AdobeLife. No matter the project they worked on, one thing is clear—these interns mean business!
Alexis Henry
Sales Operations Manager Intern
As a Sales Operations Manager intern, Alexis’s main project was analyzing historical data from lost deals. She worked on gathering all this data and tracked trends to present to the sales org. “This is my favorite type of work—analyzing the 2D data and trying to tell a story.” Through her work, Alexis had a clear view of the impact she was making—especially since she also worked in the Sales Academy the year prior. “I have a wholesome view of everything and I know a lot about how the sales org works now.”
But the most enlightening experience she received this summer: learning what success looks like. And she was surprised. “When I first started I thought success would look like checking boxes from the outline my manager made for me. But I soon learned this wasn’t the nature of sales ops. Things are so dynamic. Success really looks like being able to adapt along the way.” And luckily for Alexis, she had the resources necessary to pull with the punches. “I was part of the Black Employee Network, so I was given a mentor who was really helpful in walking me through things. I also used Lynda.com a lot, which is free to all employees. That was extremely helpful.”
To sum up Adobe with one word, Alexis said “Connected. Because no matter where I worked, whether in the Sales Academy, in my current role, or even at lunch—everyone is always open to help out however they can. There’s this connection with everyone at Adobe.”
Brandon Welch
Visual Design Intern
Brandon (far right) and his Visual Design team.
Soft-spoken and artistic, one wouldn’t expect Brandon to be a business owner before he could order a legal drink, but he is. Since 16, Brandon has owned and operated his own clothing brand: CRANIUM. As he’s developed, so has his brand. What began as “just clothes,” has evolved into apparel with a meaning: “it’s a community for people to take risks and make sacrifices to realize their dreams.” Four years after starting CRANIUM, he’s here at Adobe building on his skills. On a day-to-day basis, Brandon creates digital graphics, or as he puts it: “I take information, analyze it, and make it more beautiful and impactful.” Many companies have subscriptions to the Creative Cloud for creative interns. But at Adobe, Brandon gets an extra bonus: he can see products in development and can gain insights from their very creators. This perk has significantly expanded his understanding of the Creative Suite.
“Collaboration is so important in the creative process. My work is constantly being critiqued, and they do it in such an efficient way during our Check-in’s,” Brandon said. “This creative process fostered at Adobe has been an opportunity to connect, refine and enhance my personal brand. My workflow has improved since I’ve been here.”
One of Brandon’s larger projects this summer included creating a 10-foot wide graphic for the Global Services Value Realization Workshop. In addition to the main display, Brandon created pieces for the breakout sessions.
According to Cass Taylor, Brandon’s manager, “Brandon can take designs and answer the corporate questions of how does this idea work with this business outcome.” Brandon’s ability to think down the small details of an info graphic up to the overall goal of a large-scale campaign have been instrumental to his success at Adobe.
When asked if he had any advice for a young person just starting off in the creative world, he said, “I’m just starting off.” Brandon added: “Be open. Listen to everyone. There’s always something to learn from everyone. The moment you stop listening is the moment you stop growing as a person.”
Nadine Elsayed
Marketing Intern
Nadine (center) with her fellow interns.
Marketing Intern at Adobe, full-time student, humanitarian, and multilingual; it seems Nadine Elsayed can do it all. One of life’s greatest lessons for her was, “Learning to blossom where you’re planted.” She was born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a small town that lies in between Philadelphia and New York City. Even though she had full intentions of leaving Bethlehem, Nadine followed in her family’s legacy and became the fourth family member to attend Lehigh University. There, she double majors in Global Studies and Journalism and Communications. But this summer, Nadine worked in San Jose, California at the Adobe headquarters, a huge change from the small East Coast town she’s known all her life. “It was strange for me to come so far from home, but my mentors here have made Adobe my home away from home.”
As a marketing intern, a typical day for Nadine ranges. She works on CMO.com as a publisher, posting various content regarding Adobe’s digital insights. This aspect of her job is more business oriented, while her other responsibilities serve as a creative outlet. She also worked with Project 1324, a new project that recently launched to inspire youth through creative collaboration. Nadine shot and edited a video covering a pro bono Adobe event promoting Project 1324. She finds the professional experience gained has been the most rewarding aspect of this internship. To sum it all up in one word, Nadine considers this experience “inspiring” from the professional skills and connections gained at Adobe.
This summer, Nadine also had the opportunity to write for the Adobe Spark Page where you can learn a little bit more about Nadine, her internship, and adventure highlights from her summer in California.
Othman Abuzeid
Financial Analyst Intern
This summer, Othman worked on financial planning and managing budget and expenses. And he’s been making some major improvements to the team’s workflow so that they can best support customers. “My main project was to essentially streamline the current process of delivering financial data. I created a Microsoft SharePoint web platform that linked to an online data portal. This way, other teams that needed our data would now have access to on-demand real time financial data. It saves a lot of time for my immediate team and our marketing partners. Compared to my past internships this experience was definitely more in-line with what I wanted. And through the nature of the job I’ve learned so much and got to work with a great team.”
When asked what some of the resources that led to his success were, the answer was easy—the people. “You can get help from anywhere—even outside of your team. Knowing that people are ready and willing to help is a good sign.” As for one word he’d use to describe Adobe with? “Fulfilling. What I was able to achieve in 2 ½ months has been amazing.”
Picture yourself at Adobe next Summer as an intern or University graduate? Head on over to our career site to explore opportunities and keep an eye out for when our Talent Team will be dropping by campuses!