Tombras School Student Accepted into MAIP Fellowship

Spending a summer in New York is every advertising and public relations student’s dream. Tombras School of Advertising and Public Relations junior Isabella Hughes gets to make that dream a reality after being accepted into The Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP).

Hughes said she chose to go to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, on a whim. 

“I kind of stumbled across UT randomly. My family passed it one day on a road trip and I was like, ‘I want to go to school there.’ So I just pursued that,” she said.

Hughes grew up in Atlanta and was involved in the yearbook in high school, which is how she found a love for advertising. Hughes says what she’s learned in her classes has allowed her to gain much-needed skills to work in the industry. 

“The time and energy that the Tombras School has poured into me has truly kept me here. I think that is just a testament to the faculty and staff and the love that they have for not only advertising but for their students,” she said.

This past year Hughes was the managing editor of The Daily Beacon and has recently transitioned to be editor-in-chief. She is a member and vice president-elect of business operations of the professional business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Pi. As a student advocate for the Tombras School, Hughes works with Tombras program manager Dionne George and associate professor María De Moya to create inclusive learning environments and collaborate with community partners. 

“I really want to take what we have learned with bringing high school students here, and hosting events such as Intercultural Week, and integrate those strategies and initiatives school-wide and then college-wide,” she stated.

While on a trip to New York with the Tombras School, Hughes was connected with a former MAIP fellow and discussed how the program helped them in their career. The goal of the fellowship is to combine real-world work experience, training and development, and networking opportunities within the industry for students.

“He said it changed his complete perspective on what advertising can do and, not only that, but it created a pipeline and a network,” she said. 

Professor and Director of the Tombras School Beth Foster, along with Professor Eric Haley and Assistant Professor Matthew Pittman, encouraged Hughes to apply to the MAIP fellowship. 

After speaking with the former fellow and getting the nudge from her professors, Hughes knew she had to apply. She was in complete shock when she heard she got in.  

“I’m excited to explore what diversity tactics we can bring into the advertising landscape,” she said. 

Hughes will be in New York for two months working with MAIP as a fellow and as an account management intern at adam&eveddb a communications company.

“Adam and Eve is my employer, but MAIP as a whole, we’re going to be doing case studies, and we’ll have our own separate client. I’ll be working with other MAIP fellows on diversity tactics and what we can bring to the advertising landscape. Then at the end, there’s a competition where we’ll present the project that we’ll have,” she explained.

This is Hughes’s first internship and she hopes it will provide her with a better perspective and insight on the advertising landscape as a whole. 

At the end of the internship program, Hughes will have the opportunity to network with different employers at a career fair hosted by MAIP. 

Hughes has already booked her flight and is currently preparing for the fellowship by going through the materials given to her by the program. She’s ready to work with industry professionals in the Big Apple. 

“I really want to learn from my peers,” she said.