It’s next to impossible to walk around Drexel’s campus without seeing a student dressed to impressed either on their way to an interview or starting their daily commute. What draws people to Drexel is its top-notch co-op program. In this program, students are on co-op for six months at a time and graduate with real working experience. In today’s tough job market, these students’ beefed up resumes really stand out in a crowd.
That’s why we at Her Campus Drexel are highlighting students with awesome co-ops to show potential students what Drexel is about, to inspire current students, and to show the rest of the world how hard-working Drexel students really are.
Anna Greenwald is a music industry senior from Madison, WI who utilized her professors, instead of the SCDC system, to score the co-op of her dreams, and in record time. She found her co-op last November, seven months before music industry majors are supposed to start co-op (because they only co-op for the summer). Even better for Anna, she was able to start working part-time in April around her classes, before switching to full-time in the summer.
“I was looking for an industry job that was heavily people-focused and exciting” Anna said. She knew she didn’t want to spend three months updating social media or filing paperwork.
Anna became an Operations Intern for CID Entertainment, located in Center City. CID specializes in VIP tickets and travel packages to events around the world, including sports and live music. They work with some of the most popular festivals in the business, like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, The X Games, and Austin City Limits. The extras CID provides varies with the event but can range from a pre-show acoustic performance to a tour bus for the entire weekend of a festival.
One of Anna’s favorite things about her co-op was the opportunity to be involved with the music while making money. “I worked with the guests [at Bonnaroo] during the day and danced the night away in the VIP sections at night,” Anna recalled. Her position also allowed her to see one of her favorite artists, Ben Howard, perform live from the front row, along with watching Elton John from just ten rows back. She has also met and hung out with a few NFL and NHL players like Ryan O’Riley, Scotie Upshall, and Sam Bradford. “I didn’t get much sleep, but the catering was free and I had a lot of Red Bull,” she said, explaining how she was able to accomplish so much at one festival.
Additionally, Anna was a part of the team that organized the company’s first self-produced music festival, Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa. This festival will take place in late January just south of Cancun. Popular country artists like Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line will be featured in the lineup. Anna worked on conceptualizing and organizing off-site and on-site activities for the festival, ranging from zipline and ATV tours to beer Olympics at the various resorts. In addition to all the time and energy she invested in creating events for festivals attendees to enjoy, she also designed a mockup of an app for the festival and continues to work with the development team.
Although her co-op ended in September, Anna’s not done working for CID. Besides continuing her work on the app for the festival, she’s also been offered a job once she graduates. After she receives her diploma in December, she’ll be heading to Cancun for Crash My Playa and from there to many other festivals.
Anna has certainly made the most of her co-op opportunity and offered her best interview tip, something that helped her land the job in the first place. “Enter with a big smile and strong handshake,” she said. “If you act like you belong there, it’s much easier for your hopeful employer to see you there too.”
She’s excited to start working at CID full-time because her coworkers’ attitudes create a great work environment. Since the office is laid back, Anna was able to wear her everyday clothes. She does recommend H&M for interview clothing. Their new upper level is filled with cute, affordable work clothes perfect for any Drexel student preparing for interviews. Anna also recommends Buffalo Exchange, describing it as “an awesome consignment store that requires minimal digging to find awesome, cheap stuff.”
In her free time, Anna also enjoys making music. To hear her killer voice, check out her cover of Sam Smith’s “I’m Not the Only One.”