American Advertising Awards
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”
On May 3rd, 2018, I received an email saying that I was a National ADDY Award winner. It was really surprising that I had to forward the email to my professors because deep inside, I really wanted to confirm with them whether or not the email is real. I only had one piece that got into the three-tier competition, and so I never expected that it would get into the final round. My winning entry was the Music for the Hungry poster series that I created during our Design Systems course in my Junior year.
The award show and gala was held on Friday, June 8th as a part of ADMERICA at the Hilton Chicago where they announced the Gold and Silver designations. I was recognized as a National Student Silver Medalist at the American Advertising Federation’s awards show and gala, in Chicago. I also found out that I was the second ODU student in two years to receive this prestigious award, and represent the university at the event, and I am really thankful for the unforgettable experience.
It was also my first time traveling by myself. Instead of being nervous, I was really excited to go on this adventure. This event gave me the confidence to step out on my own and explore Chicago. It made my first solo trip less intimidating and daunting. I think going to Dallas in April had helped me prepare for this journey that I had to take alone. I learned a lot not only from my friends who went with me to the National Student Show and Conference in Dallas, but also from all the other people that we have met during the three-day conference.
I also enjoyed my stay at the Hotel Chicago because I was able to meet a lot of people in the Advertising industry. I remember meeting interesting people who were from Texas, Hawaii, Minneapolis, DC, and Seattle, Washington. I feel really thankful for having had the opportunity to meet these amazing and talented group of people from AAF and Ad2 clubs who made me feel welcome and treated me as if I was a part of their team. They made this experience more fun, exciting, and memorable for me, and I do hope our paths cross again in the near future.
To read more about it, please visit the online article on our ODU page ➝
To see the national results, you can also follow this link to the winners page ➝