Alex Amoa, senior in advertising, has been involved in Cardinal & Gold, a student-run advertising agency, since he transferred to Iowa State in 2016. As president of C&G, Amoa is passionate about working with other students in order to prepare for an exciting career within the field of advertising.
What got you interested in advertising?
I got into the field when I was in community college. I took an advertising class there and just fell in love with it. I knew that I wanted to be in a creative field, but I just didn’t know what exactly that was at the time. Once I took that class, I Iearned about all of the different opportunities within advertising.
How long have you been involved in Cardinal & Gold, and what are some of the benefits of being a member?
I joined when I first transferred here in 2016. It’s nice to meet new people because you’re in that same mindset as everybody else. It’s been fun to collaborate with everyone there and figure out what everyone wants to do after college or what they want to do within advertising. Some people want to go into account services, some want to be in copywriting or the creative side. Through classes here, you can also put what you learn in the classroom directly into a project that you’re working on.
What types of clients have you worked with?
Our current client is someone who graduated from Iowa State in aerospace engineering and created his own business. We started that project in September and it has carried over into this semester. We’ve also worked with Great Clips.
What are some new things you’d like to accomplish as president of C&G?
I’d like to try and get us some experience with Adobe Creative Suite. I’ve set up workshops for us where someone from the design building will come to teach us Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. They’ll dabble a little bit in the Adobe video software, but not as much as the others since we like to focus more on print. Some of us have a basic knowledge of the programs, but not enough to help us create a lot of content, so that’s where I want us to go this semester so we can start creating. I also want to help students build their portfolios, so whatever they make in our club can be used for interviews and things like that.
Why should students join Cardinal & Gold?
It’s a good way to meet people who have that same desire for advertising, or those same career expectations. It’s nice to network and learn some new software and get a feel for the careers within advertising. Right now, I’m also in the process of setting up a job shadow with a creative agency. Our members will go there and shadow someone who works in copywriting, someone who works in creative or in accounts.
**What kind of career are you hoping to pursue after graduating?**
I’d like to get a job in a small advertising agency, so I can dabble in all the different areas, but as long as I’m working in advertising, I think I’ll be happy. My ultimate career goal, though, would be a creative director.
Interested in joining C&G? All majors and experience levels are welcome. Meetings are held Thursday evenings in Hamilton Hall 008. Follow C&G on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@IowaStateCG) for the latest news and updates.