Alumni Spotlight: Lexy Farris (ABJ '12)

Lexy Farris

Lexy Farris, a 2012 graduate who majored in mass media arts, is originally from Marietta, Ga. She participated in the PHD/Grady Scholars (2012) program, and now works for PHD Media in Chicago where she currently resides. 

What are you doing now and how did you get there? I am working as an Assistant Strategist for PHD, which a media advertising agency. I work on the Cricket account. I got the job through a fellowship program our agency does with UGA. Last year was its inception and I heard about it when I met Dr. Reichert at the AdPR Connection. He recommended that I should apply to the program, which I did, and ended up being accepted. At the end of the whole process, a recruiter for the company contacted me and asked if I was interested in working for PHD. I applied, had a couple interviews, and ended up landing the role in PHD’s Chicago offices. I got the job about two months after graduation and packed my things and moved out to Chicago to start my career.

What activities were you involved while in Grady/UGA?  I was involved with a few different clubs at UGA. My favorite extra-curricular activity I did was when I was a disc jockey for WUOG where I hosted a show once a week with one of my friends. I was also a member of PRSSA and Di Gamma Kappa.

What is your day-to-day like at your job? (Any interesting projects that you can share with us?) The thing I love about this industry is that every day is different. I usually help to analyze campaign suggestions from our client, check to make sure all of our media is planned to run correctly for each quarter, and things of that nature. I also get to help on presentations we make which is probably my favorite part about the job. We just did a presentation outlining what media is going to look like in 2013 and I really enjoyed doing that. My other favorite projects I have done are when I get to do competitive spending analyses. This gives me the chance to do research about what other companies are doing in comparison to how our client is operating. It makes me learn a great deal about the industry as a whole.

What part of your Grady experience (classes, professors, etc.) has been helpful in your career today? The thing that helped me the most out of all my Grady experiences were all the opportunities I was presented with. Grady is such a prestigious school and so many other students at different universities will never have the leg-up that Grady students get. The professors at Grady were amazing as well. My best professors always worked so hard and were so dedicated to each and every student. I’m glad I took the time to get to know different professors because the advice and help they gave me along the way really was invaluable.

What is your favorite Grady memory? My favorite Grady memory would have to be the Di Gamma Kappa National Association of Broadcasters Banquet. I received an award for an internship that I did and I got to meet Monica Kaufman while I was there.

What advice do you have for current AdPR students? Take advantage of all the opportunities you have in school while you are there. Just make some sort of effort to go to the events Grady has and put yourself out there while you are at it. You might as well because once graduation comes, things do not come to you as easily. Finding a job and networking will be much harder when you don’t have your university to help you along the way. I essentially got this job because I raised my hand during a workshop at AdPR Connection and then I was told about the fellowship opportunity. Now, I live in Chicago, and I have a great job that I love. If someone would have told me 6 months ago that this is what my life would be like I would have never believed them. It is crazy to think that if I never would have just simply raised my hand, none of this would have happened.