By Kai Fontenot 

Monday – Day 1: Orientation and a Reality Check

6:00 a.m. I woke up at 6 a.m., without a single thought behind my eyes. I was so tired. After drinking my coffee and eating a quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the nerves of going to meet the people I will soon be working with for the next 5 weeks set in. Getting on the bus with everyone and seeing everyone else’s nerves firsthand made me feel better.

10:00 a.m. First team meeting: names, handshakes, nods. Everyone’s kind, but I am worried
about remembering even a few of the hundred names I just heard.

12:00 p.m. We ate plain rice for lunch because they didn’t trust Megan and me with the other food, sadly.

2:00 p.m. I got assigned to the digital media team for the first two weeks. I was thinking to myself, “You’ve done this before, you’ll be fine,” but I had concerns knowing things would be different here.

3:00 p.m. I got assigned my first task: to look through a company called Beta Malt’s Instagram and read a brief explaining their brand personality and tone. This would help me get started on creating content. I haven’t done much social media work in the past, but I love scrolling on TikTok, so I knew I would be perfectly fine.

5:30 p.m. Megan and I got in a Bolt and made our way home, completely exhausted. I got Bofrot on the way home and was completely and entirely content. I realized quickly that this wasn’t two classes a day at 12 and 2…

Tuesday – Day 2: Grinding

8:15 a.m. Finished the Wordle, Connections, Mini, Strands, and got a lot of scrolls in while waiting to be handed some work. Always be careful what you wish for…

10:00 a.m. I had a meeting for a company called Goldkey, which is a growing, large fintech franchise. Trying to keep up, taking notes, and always bringing in new ideas and perspectives became completely exhausting.

12:00 p.m. I was called into a meeting for Absa, a Ghanaian bank that needs help reaching new consumers, especially the younger generation.

2:00 p.m.  I started getting back to more content for Beta Malt, now with Goldkey and other assignments on my mind. From praying for work out of boredom to being completely overwhelmed, the switch was as fast as the Bolt drivers weaving through traffic.

5:30 p.m. Things started to slow down. After a few more meetings and some good conversations with my coworkers, my brain was finally able to take a break and cool down for the end of the day.

Wednesday – Day 3: More Bofrot

8:15 a.m. Same start to the morning, except I was one hundred percent getting ahead this time. No Wordle or Instagram this morning. Just kidding, I finished all the NY Times games and postponed my work until 8. I started to feel more confident in my content ideas and was getting more comfortable talking to people about them.

10:00 a.m. I was hungry. All the people in the group chat talking about food weren’t helping.

12:00 p.m. Talked about Jordans and America with Celvin, my coworker who used to live in the Bronx. We related to a lot of the same childhood experiences. It was fun to talk about basketball and shoes because I hadn’t since being here.

2:00 p.m. Celvin, Megan, and I went for a long walk after lunch, talking about the best places in Ghana to eat, drink, hike, swim, and party. It was great (also nice to hide from assignments for a little bit).

3:00 p.m. When I got back from our walk, I was assigned to promote Innova’s show Marketing Mavericks on TikTok, so I came up with promotional content for the next two or so hours. I got to text the group chat to see if any of the amazing journalism students could help with writing a promo ad.

5:30 p.m. Almost fell asleep in the Bolt home. All I wanted was to sleep.

Thursday Day 4: Willy Wonka

8:15 a.m. I started off the morning thinking about ideas for the three companies I have been assigned to for content. The best part about brainstorming is that I get to rot away on my phone looking at TikToks and Reels for inspiration (my ideas are better, but sometimes you need a start).

10:00 a.m. I worked on a mascot design for Absa Bank. I named him Rollin, after a great Blazers basketball player.

12:00 p.m. 
Celvin: “You wanna go to a chocolate factory to meet with a client?”
Kai: “Do I seem like a person to say no to a chocolate factory?”
Celvin: “Grab your lunch, let’s go.”

2:00 p.m. We showed up at the chocolate factory, and it was giant. I didn’t know it was going to be over an hour away, but the drive was a good chance to talk more with my coworkers.

3:00 p.m. The meeting went on for a few hours. It was cool being in a client meeting after learning about this kind of meeting for 3 years; all of the mock ones finally felt like they were worth something.

7:30 p.m. It took me 8 years to get home, but, you know, I got some chocolate to bring back to the apartment mates.

Friday Day 5: Ekuo 

7:15 a.m. It’s finally Friday! You already know I woke up singing while making my breakfast, brushing my teeth, and drinking my coffee. Megan and I talked about the things we want to do this weekend. 

10:00 a.m. I wrote this spectacular blog and started brainstorming content to post for the Innova album. I am going to have Everett dance to it; he just doesn’t know it yet. 

12:00 p.m. Talked about soccer and then went to an insurance client meeting.

2:00 p.m. I had a meeting for a client called Goldkey. I was very proud because I spoke out more than usual, even though it is quite frankly scary. My tagline got used as the final insight! 

3:00 p.m. I had a heated argument about whether Drake or Kendrick is better. 

5:30 p.m. We had a celebration for the other graduating interns!