We are the Faculty representatives for the Spartan Ad Club. SAC are the student chapter of the American Advertising Federation and they are primarily Advertising majors, minors and, well, students who are interested in advertising as a possible career path. Or they are just curious and creative individuals.
Each year, the SAC take a small number of members to New York City, the global capital (some might say) of the advertising world with one or two advertising faculty in tow. Actually, faculty organize visits to a whole bunch of advertising and public relations agencies in Manhattan and Brooklyn, sometimes as far out as Queens. Recently costs have increased. Quite exponentially, actually. It's hard to find cheap flights, and accommodation has become quite restrictive too. Typically, the hotel tends to be walking distance from most of the agencies on the list, or a short walk to a subway station when agencies are outside of Manhattan. Never anything fancy, just comfortable and clean.
But life is ... expensive. It's becoming harder to justify the expense. But we shouldn't be in this position. For students who participate in this trip, a new world opens up to them. They discover how exciting the fast paced world of advertising can be. They meet alumni of our program, they network and discover internships, job opportunities. Importantly, they get EXCITED! And some return after graduation to make that their life. And they succeed. But if they don't go, they don't know. This is a "work" trip, and these students work it. They ask insightful questions, they network and, of course, they explore the magic of NYC too. The goal amount is important. It means we can either keep costs low for more students to participate, or we can make the experience competitive and free for those selected. Whichever way you look at it, this goal will expand our students' horizons in an amazing way.
