NYC Internship Q and A: Carolyn Giordano '19

What is the name of the company you are interning for and your position there?
Tri Coastal Design. Character licensing and branding intern. Tri Coastal has agreements with brands including Disney, Nickelodeon and Marvel. Tri Coastal manufactures products and through these licensing agreements which Tri Coastal is able to put the brand name on Tri Coastal manufactured items. These items are then sold wholesale to distributors such as Big Lots, Sam's Club and TJ Maxx.

Describe a typical day on the job.
First thing in the morning, I am given a list of approvals that we have received from the brands that Tri Coastal has agreements with. These approvals ensure that we are representing their brand name, artwork, and characters correctly on our products. Once an item has gone through all the steps of the approval process it can be distributed. After working through the list of approvals, I act to move the items along in the process. This involves uploading safety testing, sending samples and uploading new concepts for them to review. The items are then managed on an Excel tracker, a specific document for each brand which is updated as items go through the approval process. I spend most of my time working to get these items approved and addressing any problems that may hold up the items.

What are some skills that you have learned?
Some skills that I have learned that I will apply to my future career are organization skills and skills in Excel. With thousands of items trying to be approved across five or six different brands it was important that I stayed organized and completed one task at a time and tasks that weren't completed were put on the back burner but not forgotten about completely. After using Excel every day for almost two months, I have become much more comfortable using the program and am able to complete specific requests in a short amount of time.

Any soft/social skills?
Socially I have learned how to speak to people who are in a higher position than me with confidence that I know what I am talking about. Additionally, I have learned the correct workplace etiquette by observing those around me.

What were your expectations of the internship? Does it match the reality?
Coming into this internship, I didn’t really have many expectations other than expecting to work hard and learn a lot. I have learned even more than I expected about licensing agreements and brands. Coming into this internship, I had little to no background in this area but am now confident in my knowledge and abilities.

How do you feel this internship prepared you for the real world?
It has given me a tremendous amount of confidence. I was forced to adapt quickly to a department in which I knew virtually nothing about. It has also helped me to realize how fast paced the business world is. It is important to keep up with what's going on by prioritizing tasks and being able to complete tasks as quick as you can without sacrificing its correctness.

What advice would you give to college students pursuing an internship?
Trust yourself. It's nerve-wracking walking into an office with people much older than you who have been doing this stuff for years. Trust that you will be able to adapt quickly. You are smarter than you think and chances are you will get the hang of it within the first week. Also, don't be afraid to ask questions. In the beginning, I was nervous to ask questions. I very quickly learned though that by asking questions you are learning while doing things correctly. This saves a lot of time in the long run and helps you to learn along the way.

Overall, I had a great internship experience at Tri Coastal Design and feel very privileged to be given the opportunity.