The problem
Advertising, marketing, and communications students were learning theory in the classroom, but had no dedicated environment to practice with real clients, budgets, and outcomes.
Featured Case Study
Marketing & Advertising Lab (MAD Lab)
An experiential learning studio built to close the gap between the classroom and the profession — and to give students in advertising, marketing, and communications the same real-world preparation their journalism peers already had.
01 — Executive Summary
Built to close a gap in how students were prepared
My work at Valdosta State University began well before MAD Lab. I led The Spectator — not simply a student newspaper, but an experiential learning organization whose mission was to prepare students for professional careers through meaningful, real-world responsibility. Journalism students there already had a place to learn by doing.
The gap was on the other side of the newsroom. Students interested in advertising, marketing, client relations, business development, and communications did not have a comparable place to practice their craft with real clients, real deadlines, and real accountability.
After recognizing that gap, I developed the concept, secured institutional support and funding, and launched the Marketing & Advertising Lab (MAD Lab) as a new experiential learning initiative — a working studio where students served university departments and outside clients while growing into the professionals they were preparing to become.
“I wasn't building publications. I was building opportunities for students to become professionals.”
02 — The Challenge
A gap between preparation and profession
Why it mattered
Employers hire for judgment, professionalism, and portfolio — the qualities only real work can build. Without a place to practice, students were entering the profession a step behind.
What was missing
A structured studio: client intake, sales, project management, creative production, and coaching — designed to develop people, not just deliver work.
03 — The Vision
Bridge the classroom and the profession
The vision was straightforward and demanding at the same time: create an environment where students worked with real clients, managed real projects, collaborated across disciplines, and left with the career-ready skills that classrooms alone cannot fully build.
That meant designing a studio with the standards of a professional agency and the patience of a teaching environment — where mistakes were expected, coaching was constant, and the work that went out the door still had to earn the client's trust.
04 — Leadership
What the work was really about
Developing future professionals
Preparing students to enter the workforce with the judgment, polish, and perspective employers actually hire for.
Building confidence
Giving students room to try, refine, and present their work to real clients — the fastest path to belief in themselves.
Coaching and mentoring
Meeting students where they are, asking better questions, and helping them see the leader already forming inside them.
Creating opportunities
Opening doors to experiences, networks, and portfolios that would not otherwise be available inside a classroom.
Empowering students to lead
Trusting students with ownership of clients, campaigns, and outcomes — because responsibility is how leaders are made.
05 — Business Operations
Running the studio like a business
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Advertising sales
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Client relationships
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Revenue generation
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Project management
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Production workflow
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Team coordination
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06 — Results & Impact
Measurable outcomes
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Annual advertising revenue
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Students mentored
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Graduate employment outcomes
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Client partnerships
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Awards
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Publications produced
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07 — Gallery
Moments from the studio
Photographs, publications, and campaign artifacts will be added here over time.
08 — Testimonials
In their own words
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09 — Reflection
Leadership Lessons
Placeholder — a reflection on what building MAD Lab taught about leadership: about developing people, trusting them with real work, and creating the conditions in which they can rise.
Placeholder — a note on how those lessons continue to shape a leadership philosophy grounded in curiosity, coaching, and building systems that serve the people inside them.
“Success wasn't the project. Success was what the project did for the people involved.”
— Aimee Napier
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