Ad Creative Student, Alex Winnie, Blends Classroom Learning with Branding via Brewery Internship
By: Melissa Modrycki
When Alex Winnie took her first steps onto Michigan State University’s campus, she had already come with a drive for creative inspiration that would help form the foundation for her academic journey – and it came in the form of her hometown brewery beer cans.
“I was always fascinated by their branding,” Winnie said of Dark Horse Brewery. “Each can had its own story, visuals and personality. Watching their rebrand unfold showed me how much creative strategy and visual storytelling can impact a company’s image.”
Growing up, Winnie says she often visited the brewery and restaurant with her family. From a young age, it had exposed her to unique branding that eventually help kickstart her creative advertising, public relations and business pursuits at MSU.
Over summer 2025, Winnie returned to Dark Horse, but this time as one of its first interns. She was given the task of working very closely with their advertising and sales teams during the launches of their two new products: Lemonata, a Sicilian style pilsner, and Great America, a malt liquor.
Looking into Lemonata, Winnie was given the task of establishing the beer’s image beyond the Dark Horse brand, along with building its social media presence from scratch. The brewery struggled to market the Great America beer beyond pop-up events and Winnie had the idea to reposition the product to a slushy at the brewery for outdoor summer cocktail events and for at-home customers.
Winnie says her MSU ad creative coursework gave her a strong foundation for her internship. As a PR minor, she creates and drafts press releases when submitting new products, while media coursework helps guide through documentary-style projects that may require a higher level of attention.
“Being able to directly apply what I learned in class to real-world projects was incredibly rewarding,” she said. “It gave me portfolio pieces I’m excited to showcase on my website.”
Beyond the classroom, Winnie has taken full advantage of the many resources offered to MSU ADPR students, specifically student organizations, like the Public Relations Student Society of America and MSU’s VIM Magazine where she pitches ideas, designs mood boards and guides photoshoots.
With already having an internship completed early in her academic career, Winnie says she is eager to continue her professional career and expand her portfolio. She is looking at another possible fashion internship, already hoping to expand her PR strategy course experience.
“It’s exciting to look back and see how much I’ve learned in just two years,” said Winnie. “I’m grateful for the experiences that have shaped me, and I can’t wait to see where this path leads.”
