In-depth with the Think Big i-Team: Emily Leeper

This summer, Think Big Partners proudly took on its biggest project of all—managing 9 rockstar interns!  We were so excited to bring on these 9 eager students that we felt like we had to come up with name for them—they are now known as the i-Team. We can’t wait to teach the i-Team all about the world of entrepreneurship, startups, marketing and all things in between.  Learn more about i-Team member Emily Leeper, our event planning intern:

NAME: Emily Leeper

BIGGEST OBSESSION: Ironing

DREAM VACATION: Europe

ALMA MATER: University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Born in raised in Papillion, Nebraska, Emily is a graduate of Papillion-La Vista High School, where she was self-described as an overachiever.  Participating in soccer and volleyball alone are enough to fill the days of the average high schooler. But due to a back injury, Emily’s high school athlete days were dramatically cut short. But Emily isn’t the type of person who accepts “average”.  So she repurposed herself in many different ways and found new passions. Emily quickly joined choir, show choir, STUCO, DECA and everything in between.

After cementing her legacy at Papillion, Emily went on to Iowa State University to pursue animal sciences.  After her first year (in a way that many freshman do), Emily decided animal science wasn’t quite her thing. She transferred back home to the University of Nebraska where she earned her degree in advertising.  

Here at Think Big, Emily serves as the right-hand woman to bizperc manager and event extraordinaire Sarah Snyder, with whom Emily credits as a big help. Coming in, Emily states that she has never dealt with large events that Think Big produces, such as iKC.  She says that the smallest details in planning an event can be some of the most difficult. Emily is able to take care of those minor details thanks to her obsession with ironing. Yes, ironing. It has become well-known that Emily has a complete distaste for wrinkles. As she puts it, “no one is allowed to leave the house with wrinkly clothes!”

Like many young go-getters, Emily carries dreams and aspirations with her wherever she goes.  One of these motivators is to finally go to Europe—an adventure she was planning on going on in college.  Another motivator for Emily is her fear of failure.  Keeping an always-positive attitude, Emily is determined to succeed and proclaims that she “won’t let fear get in her way”. 

The desire to be great can be heard in her voice when she explains how she thinks big: “I try to push myself to learn something new and put myself out of my comfort zone every day”. With conviction and a strong head on her shoulders, it is clear that whatever wrinkles Emily may encounter in life, she’ll be ready to face them head-on with Febreze wrinkle release and iron in tow.

In-Depth with the Think Big i-Team: Sara Heins

This summer, Think Big Partners proudly took on its biggest project of all—managing 9 rockstar interns!  We were so excited to bring on these 9 eager students that we felt like we had to come up with name for them—they are now known as the i-Team. We can’t wait to teach the i-Team all about the world of entrepreneurship, startups, marketing and all things in between.  Learn more about i-Team member Sara Heins, one of our four copy interns: 

NAME: Sara Heins

PERSONAL MOTTO: “Work Hard, Play Hard and on Occasion, Laze Around”

3 WORDS TO DESCRIBE SARA: Funny, loyal, fun

SOCIAL MEDIA PREFERENCE: Facebook

FUN FACT: Sara has been a regular in several videos on her friend’s YouTube channel

Sara Heins is a native Missourian, born and raised in South County, St. Louis. She attended Mehlville High School where she excelled in tennis and soccer. And being the ambitious person she is, Sara was a member of many different high school organizations and clubs...too many to name.   

Upon graduation, Sara made the two-hour journey west to Columbia, where she attended Mizzou. Sara spent her time watching old T.V. shows on Netflix, running and drinking the occasional beer. Oh, and she also graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in journalism with an emphasis in strategic communications (which is basically advertising) and a minor in both business and French. In other words, she majored and minored in everything.

During her junior year at Mizzou, Sara traveled to Brussels for a study abroad program with Procter and Gamble. After returning to the States, Sara said she turned into a “beer snob” until her bank account felt the negative effects.

Sara has dreamed of becoming a writer ever since she visited an advertising agency in elementary school. The advertising environment inspired her and meshed well with her creative side. Her future dream job is to be a creative director at an agency, like Don Draper from the T.V. series “Mad Men” (but without the sexism).

In the next five years, Sara plans to move to Kansas City (she currently commutes 2 hours from Columbia.  Talk about Think Big dedication!) and gain a new family member, a kitten. After working for a few years, she’d like to take time off for traveling. Sara wants to go “anywhere but western Europe” since she’s already been to Brussels, but “is thinking South America” for her next trip.

Sara joined Think Big Partners in June of 2012 as a summer associate/junior copywriter/content developer. Her entrepreneurial experience goes back to high school where she was a part of DECA. She was also a part of collegiate DECA and won awards including Top 10 in Fashion Merchandising.

Sara already enjoys working in Think Big Partners’ coworking space, bizperc.  “I love the energy and the environment,” she says. “The office space is great and all the people are super friendly”. The biggest challenge for her, so far, is the 2-hour commute every week from Columbia. But that’s nothing compared to her 4-year stint at JCPenney, where she said, “People [customers] were mean to me and I would have to cry in the fitting rooms!”.

How Does Sara Think Big? “I try to be open to new experiences and not say no.”

In-Depth with the Think Big i-Team: Bobby Miller Jr.

This summer, Think Big Partners proudly took on its biggest project of all—managing 9 rockstar interns!  We were so excited to bring on these 9 eager students that we felt like we had to come up with name for them—they are now known as the i-Team. We can’t wait to teach the i-Team all about the world of entrepreneurship, startups, marketing and all things in between.  Learn more about i-Team member Bobby Miller Jr., one of our four copy interns: 

NAME: Bobby Miller Jr.

FAVORITE SPORT: Wrestling

HOBBIES: Improv, deejaying and rockin’ shorts to work

FUN FACT: Performs improv with troupe LSR

BIGGEST FEAR: Being adequate

Bobby Miller Jr. was a high school athlete, excelling in football and wrestling.  When he wasn’t busy striking fear into the hearts of his opponents with his half-nelson techniques, he competed and held leadership positions in the marketing group, DECA.  He was the Vice President of Kansas DECA his junior year and then ran for international office when he was a senior.  One of his biggest accomplishments was securing a corporate sponsor for his campaign (which never happens. Seriously, it’s impressive.) Bobby cold-called Kodak one day, established a relationship and with persistence, landed a sponsorship from the company.  He believes this is the right attitude to have in life.  “You’re never small enough to ask and never big enough to ask,” he says.  “It doesn’t matter who you are.  If you project yourself properly, you can do anything.” 

Bobby enjoyed two and a half years at Kansas University studying business.  But after awhile, he came to find that many of the classes he took had nothing to teach him (or at least weren’t teaching him anything he hadn’t already learned from his extensive DECA experiences).  Although he wouldn’t have had these problems had he gotten a quality education from Mizzou*, Bobby decided to leave the college life and pursue his true dream career—entertaining others and making them laugh.  Today, Bobby deejays at the Velvet Dog and studies and performs with his improv troupe LSR on the side, apart from writing awesome waffle blog posts for Think Big Partners.

If he approached a wishing well, Bobby would sacrifice some loose change for his one true dream: to sit in the front row at Wrestlemania.  Bobby has been a fan of wrestling ever since his early childhood, with a brief hiatus due to the very distracting presence of the opposite gender in high school.  His love for the sport has now been rekindled and the flame burns hotter and more passionately than ever (wrestling matches take up most of Bobby’s TiVo). 

It’s pretty obvious by now—Bobby doesn’t know how to think small.  If he’s not calling Kodak for sponsorships, he’s pursuing his dreams in any and every way possible, even if it’s not the most roundabout way of getting there.   

Bobby would like to leave you with this thought: “My biggest fear is being adequate.”  Angela Hayes said something similar to this in American Beauty, but they’ve sure got a point – being average just isn’t acceptable.

*Yes, this was written by a recent Mizzou grad. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.