Skate Blog Intern Blog

March 14, 2011

Dear Fellow Ambitious Bamboo-Loving Interns,

Welcome to the world of Action Sports and Bamboo! If you are reading this it means you have decided to join a great team and an awesome opportunity for your future career. Nothing can be more important these days then getting a step ahead, congrats to you for taking that step!

I guess I should start out by introducing myself. My name is Kelly Loft; I was part of the Second Class of Interns. After my graduation from the program (which you will all do J), I then went on to be hired on as Project Lead to help run the Third Class Program. After my fantastic time with BambooSK8 and Bamboo Buddy, I took a year off to finish school. I then received another internship at Sole Technology, just a little place you might have heard of. I enjoyed my time there and then moved back up to LA where I now do Media Planning for Infiniti Automotive. You can say I have been involved in a lot!

Okay, so I am sure you are wondering why I am writing this. Why do you care about me or my work history? The answer would be is, I have been in your shoes asking the same questions, wondering the same thing about the program and it’s potential. I wanted to reach out to you to shed some light on questions you may have been asking. Most importantly, how does this internship stack up to the others?

First and foremost you are lucky to work with some of the most amazing people in the industry. Learn all you can from them! This internship is special because you get hands on, everyday experience with people who know the industry well. My time at Sole Tech, although fun and exciting, was never a hands on experience like BambooSK8. Of course at Sole I saw the people that were the big decision makers of the company, but never had a chance to hear their side, their story and most of all work directly under and for them. By being in such a close proximity to the Wyatt, Geoff and Mark gives you great advantage. Secondly, take time to get as involved in you can. Try to touch at least one part of a project every day. When you’re working for a bigger well known company you do not get to do the sort of tasks that you do at Bamboo. I was a spreadsheet master at Sole Tech! I am sure that you will be spending some time working on those sorts of remedial tasks at Bamboo, but I mean that was my job at Sole, ALL DAY! At Bamboo I was doing the busy office work but, I was also planning ASR, going to trade shows, creating client relationships and becoming a solid brand ambassador. I learned much more with my time at Bamboo and so will you.

I was in your shoes, sometimes wondering if I was making the right decision by investing my time with the internship you have taken on. Now sitting here I can tell you, it was worth it. I made great lifelong friends, participated hands on with  people who know how the industry works and was able to take many things away with me that have landed me in the job I am today. Be proud and don’t give up! Please feel free to reach out with any questions to me that you have! My door is always open for fellow Bamboo lovers. Have an awesome time!

Thank you,

Kelly Loft