A Creative Internship at The Creative Coast

This week’s blog is from Creative Coast intern Gannon Mason, a business communications student at Armstrong State University and true asset to the Creative Coast cause over the past few months!  Read on as Gannon sees The Creative Coast through a fresh set of eyes. FYI – The Creative Coast’s blogspot is Savannah’s sounding board for local thinkers, innovators, wanderers and wonders. Guest bloggers share their thoughts, opinions and creative noodling from all over the map…

As an intern at The Creative Coast this summer, I had a hand in all the events, upcoming and past, that happened here. I remember my first day, introducing myself to everyone, and being instructed to learn as much as I could about The Creative Coast. 1 Million Cups, Geekend, Podcasts, Bizlab companies, TEDxCC, potential tenants and so much more. Holy moly, there was so much going on I was confused how I could even help a company that did this much.

Each day gave me a new experience and a new outlook on things. Being a business communications intern from Armstrong State University, I knew I wanted to go into some form of business, something that made a difference in some shape or another. As the summer passed, I learned something new each day, ranging from how to work google docs to how a non-profit operates financially. I feel like my brain should have exploded by now. 1 Million Cups was probably my favorite learning experience. Lucky for me I got a good dose of it every Wednesday at 9am. Two speakers present their new business or business idea to a community of Savannah locals who share their knowledge and experience to help the entrepreneurs improve their businesses. My first 1 Million Cups will always stay in my head. Clegg Ivey of The Guild Hall was there to present his business and his new gaming pub. Seeing someone as experienced and successful as Clegg made me look far into my future and think “this man combined his love for video games and business and is doing great; that is something that I want to achieve. Combining something that the kid in me loves with work.” Not every day of my internship was as stimulating as Wednesdays. I spent a good chunk of time setting up for events and reorganizing the innards of The Creative Coast with Kait Lance, one of my many idols at work, so that we could do great things for the Savannah community. Honestly though, breaking a sweat moving tables and setting things up never felt more rewarding. Kait would explain each event and the value it brings to the community, which made me think outside of the box in a sense. We host events that help support the expansion and productivity of Savannah, so I’m helping the growth of Savannah. I may not be a big player, but I’m part of the bigger picture which is rewarding in its own right. This experience makes me want to grow professionally so I can have a bigger influence on future endeavors. I could write books on my experiences here at The Creative Coast. It really helped me figure out what I want to do with my career. However, I don’t think the Bizlab companies want me to show the world just yet what they’re doing and I probably shouldn’t tell people how I didn’t know how to write the addresses on a standard mailing letter (it’s the 21st century, I didn’t know people still received paper letters!). Even though my internship is up at The Creative Coast I will keep showing up at TCC events. I want to be a part of the great movement that The Creative Coast is fostering. I want to help my community grow and help local businesses prosper. My knowledge may be limited now, but who knows, I may have the perfect answer to an entrepreneur’s problem. I also want to see the friends that I’ve made while at The Creative Coast: Bea Wray, Executive Director and model for how to lead a group of amazing people; Emily McLeod, Programs Manager, an inspiration of how communication and hard work make big events such as Geekend happen; Kait Lance, Community Manager and example of how anything worth doing is worth doing right and that going above and beyond is always the right thing to do; and my fellow interns, Anna Toth and Caroline Li, who showed me how no matter your experience level, you always have room to learn. After a summer of interning with The Creative Coast, I am even more excited to see what the future brings, both for myself and Savannah. I can tell you this much, wherever I see the green and blue of The Creative Coast in the future, I’ll know something good is happening for Savannah. Gannon]]>