Finding Her Future in Advertising: How an Internship Helped MSU Senior, Sophia Cureo, Discover Her Career Path
By: Leah West
Michigan State University senior, Sophia Cureo, joined The Martin Group summer internship program in Buffalo, New York, where she was able to define her likes and dislikes within corporate and agency advertising, solidifying her desires for a future career.
Cureo is an advertising management major with a business minor expected to graduate in spring 2026. In summer 2025, Cureo participated in an eight-week internship program with The Martin Group in Buffalo, New York. During the internship, Cureo had the chance to observe a full advertising team.
“I was able to see what their day-to-day routine was and how they all collaborate together and just what their main goals are for each day,” she said.
From her experience there, Cureo found that her favorite aspect of the experience was getting to hear from all the different departments.
“Each week we would have a new meeting with one of the departments to figure out what they do and what work they’ve done,” she said.
She says these meetings gave her the necessary insights to move ahead in her career in a path that she enjoys the most.
For Cureo, after learning the ins and outs of each department, she was able to narrow down her career interests to two main areas.
“The media buying aspect also really intrigued me because they were showing us all the different websites they use to figure out where to buy media spaces to put campaigns,” she said.
Among her internship’s impactful projects was shadowing The Martin Group’s New Era Cap campaign, featuring Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. Cuero had the chance to observe the “Billustration” campaign from the inside, watching how the team outlined their goals, built out the strategy and even crafted elements like Allen’s LinkedIn. Seeing the strategic thinking behind a major campaign helped her understand how intentional each decision is, and it gave her a clearer picture of agency work.
The second impactful project was a mock pitch for Chobani, where the interns developed a full presentation as if they were competing for the brand’s business. Cureo created a full pitch deck and delivered it as though she were asking Chobani to partner with the agency, giving her a realistic look at what it takes to secure a campaign. After presenting, the team offered constructive feedback that pushed her to grow.
“They kind of critiqued our projects and told us what else we should do,” she said. “Hearing some of the critiques challenged me.”
That feedback ultimately helped her refine her presentation skills and better understand how professionals strengthen their work.
For more information about Cureo’s general internship experience with The Martin Group, visit their website here: https://www.martingroup.co. Interested in exploring internship opportunities? Visit the MSU Handshake portal here.
