Mackenzie Howey interns at SXSW

One of the many interesting
murals put up for SxSW

Last semester, I was given the opportunity to go on the Campus2Careers bus to tour Austin’s top advertising agencies such as McGarrahJessee, GSD&M, and T3. After the tour, Campus2Careers sent the students on the tour internship and job opportunities, with one of the opportunities being South By Southwest. My past internships had only consisted of advertising agencies so I was a skeptical about applying. However, I had always wanted to intern at SXSW, a company that brings such a unique event to Austin each year. After my interview (with a past Zeta!), I was positive I wanted to be a part of the festival and was thrilled when offered the job.

Mackenzie Howey ready to intern at SXSW

By way of introduction, SXSW is held annually in Austin and consists of conferences and festivals that highlight technology and interactive discoveries, film, and music; showcase thousands of bands, films, and celebrities; and provides inspiration for new technology. SXSW describes the collaboration on its website as “the premier destination for discovery.” For me, it was an opportunity to work in the company’s brand development and special projects department. My work prior to and during the event was focused on protection of the SXSW trademark, which involved tasks related to monitoring unwarranted use of the SXSW trademark; preparing for and monitoring unofficial events; and managing a team of volunteers who reported various assigned tasks.

The band Third Eye Blind

The week of the festival was a whole other playing field: I worked around the clock in the exciting environment and loved every minute of it. I assisted in monitoring official events such as the VEVO Control Room and Disco Donnie; helped with coordinating the merchants at Auditorium Shores; and spent a day facilitating the Neiman Marcus CUSP and Style Caster event. I walked countless miles, saw some awesome breakthrough artists, and learned a lot about myself.

To be an intern with SXSW, you must be able to think on your feet, be detail-oriented, move-on after something does not go as planned, and most importantly, have a smile on your face. SXSW is the largest festival of its kind, so naturally countless things will go wrong, but you must be able to efficiently think of the best possible solution and roll with it. (And if you can’t think of anything, walkie your boss as fast as possible.)

Mackenzie enjoyed Jeni's ice cream at SxSW

If you have ever participated in SXSW, you know the craziness that floods the streets of downtown Austin. You have experienced standing in long lines to get into Hype Hotel; licking the perfect ice cream cone from Jeni’s Ice Cream; or refreshing your e-mail to see if you won a ticket to Prince or Justin Timberlake’s secret shows. If you have not been to SX, I encourage you to go.

I am so grateful for my experience as an intern for SXSW; the skills I gained from that week will serve me for a lifetime.

                ZL,
                Mackenzie Howey
                PC '10