Leo Burnett Pilots Creative Boot Camp at Chicago State University

leo burnett said that if it helped people it helped business it's a belief we put into action every day not just for our clients but for our own business we saw there was a need for more pathways for diverse students into our industry and so we started the pencil project which offers scholarships mentorship and relationships that make a difference in our latest chapter we're partnering with chicago state university we started by reimagining the school all together giving it an energetic new design system and voice then we took it further partnering with the marcus graham project a portfolio school that creates opportunities for students of color with them we offered a 10-week advertising boot camp to introduce chicago state students to advertising the class is taught by leo's very own business leadership strategy creative and media pros is still the secret sauce of what they do and introduced a whole new set of people to a whole new career path this expanded into not only just us having to get a grade but also us wanting to make a lasting impact at chicago state turning out ideas and seeing them come to fruition was something that i did not know i would love like okay this is something i could use in a long run this could help me accomplish things the biggest win was when we did our final presentation this has been an incredible journey for us and for our students and i really hope that we can continue on the students are the case study each one offered an internship eyes were open pathways illuminated careers kickstarted it helped people it will help the business it made a difference but there's still more to be done and that's why this project is only just the beginning