The Advertising Specialty Institute® (ASI) today announced it awarded its first $1,000 intern scholarship to Julianna Krueger, who worked in the Varsity Line division of ASI distributor Neil Enterprises Inc. in Vernon Hills, IL.
The Advertising Specialty Institute® (ASI) today announced it awarded its first $1,000 intern scholarship to Julianna Krueger, who worked in the Varsity Line division of ASI distributor Neil Enterprises Inc. in Vernon Hills, IL.
ASI’s inaugural ASI Summer Internship Program attracted 108 millennials who learned about the $22 billion promotional products industry through a variety of jobs at 69 participating companies. As part of the program, ASI offered a $1,000 scholarship to the intern who wrote the best essay about their experiences and what they learned about the industry and promo products.
In her winning essay, Krueger said, “This internship helped me understand not only the industry, but also how it supports the success of other industries.”
Krueger is a sophomore at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI, with a double major in marketing and management. She also plans to pursue a master’s degree. At Neil (asi/281900), Krueger worked in the division that sells licensed merchandise to college bookstores.
“When I was not processing orders, I printed barcodes, followed up with vendors on orders in progress and answered emails,” said Krueger in her essay. “This internship has given me a great appreciation for the promotional items that I see in my school’s bookstore.”
Krueger said her internship experience taught her everything she now knows about the promotional products industry, as well as new computer program skills and ways to strengthen communication skills.
“I’m a huge advocate of bringing in more millennials to our industry and one of the best ways to encourage that is through internships,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI. “Millennials – and their $200 billion in spending power – are the future of our industry and are certain to provide valuable insight into the advertising wants and needs of the next generation of consumers. Getting millennials like Julianna excited about the creativity inherent in our industry is exactly what we hoped to accomplish with our latest program.”
Krueger plans to apply the entire scholarship to her tuition and said she will consider entering the promotional products industry after graduation.
Alysa Eidmann, Krueger’s supervisor at Neil Enterprises, an ASI member since 1975, said the winning college student was a great help to the company over the summer. “I was able to trust her to take care of my orders with minimal checking up on her,” said Eidmann. “She has a great work ethic.”
Along with the scholarship, the ASI Summer Internship Program provided each intern with:
• Free ESP® access for distributor interns for the summer
• An ASI summer gift pack of promotional items
• An invitation to attend ASI Chicago
• VIP breakfast at ASI Chicago
• A 5-week webinar education series and industry overview
• An internship completion certificate