Meet Some of ASF's Interns and Trainees
The ASF’s Internship & Training Department provides young Scandinavians and Americans with the unique opportunity to receive practical on-the-job experience abroad. Approximately 200 interns and trainees participate in the program each year in a number of fields, including engineering, architecture, law, business, design, journalism and the culinary arts.
Søren Rasmussen, a Multimedia Design student at the Academy of Professional Higher Education in Midjutland, Denmark, entered the program in January 2010. For the past three months, Søren has been interning at brand communications and consultancy firm Goldforest Inc. in Hollywood, Florida. Established in 1989, Goldforest Inc. specializes in identity development, package design and branding.
Recently, we asked Søren a few questions about his internship experience and his plans for the future.
Can you tell us a little bit about Goldforest, Inc.? Why did you want to intern at this particular firm?
Goldforest was founded in 1989. It began as an advertising agency, and now it is a branding and package design company (visit www.goldforest.com for more information). I joined Goldforest because they wanted me. I sent 80+ applications to various agencies across the United States. Goldforest was the only company that showed a real and honest interest. I didn’t know Goldforest before, or what they did. But it was the right choice. I could not have chosen a better place, the amount of trust they show me is touching.
What project or projects are you most excited to have worked on thus far? Do you have a favorite project (brand identity, etc.) that Goldforest, Inc. has completed during your internship?
I am helping Goldforest with their Social Media strategy and I am also working on the Social Media strategy for Make A Wish Foundation’s Dream Date Auction. This is the most interesting project I have worked on in a long time. The possibilities are so many and the cause is really good. It’s a project that makes sense. I really enjoy the work they did with Nino Salvaggio’s and :10 Minute Manicure. You can see the work on the website www.goldforest.com or check out our fanpage on facebook.
Have you noticed any significant differences in the branding strategies of U.S. and Danish agencies?
Well, some small differences. Branding is universal I think. The American companies might be ahead in some aspects, but the Danish/European companies are ahead in other senses. Take small company websites, for example. They have a much stronger branding in Denmark. In the United States small businesses do not always have a website, and if they do it is often very terrible. In the United States the focus is on the visual part of branding. In Denmark you expect the total package. If there is a new product or store, you, as a consumer, expect branding on a website, letters, visual identity and so forth. I think this is mainly because of the difference in size. In the United States you can make a very good living on a market share of 1%. I very much doubt that you are able to do that in Denmark.
Have you come up against any branding/design challenges that you see as specific to the U.S industry?
I think that the biggest challenge is to embrace technology. With Smartphones the market is changing. Brand value and equity will have to be more thought out and the online presence will have to be the brands’ extension. QR codes, or “Quick Response codes,” are the start of the change. In a couple of years, you will be doing everything from your phone. If the businesses do not understand this, they will be in trouble. This is because when the internet becomes a more integral part of your life, you, the consumer, will expect the stores and brands to understand and embrace that.
I understand that you have been serving in the Royal Danish Navy for the last ten years. What drew you into branding and identity design?
I joined the navy when I was 17. I needed some time away from school. It gave me a chance to grow up, and learn a lot about myself. I am still employed by the Navy and they are paying my salary while I am here. I was drawn towards advertising and identity at a very young age, but I never had the chance to work with it until now. I was drawn because the possibilities in communication are numerous. I feel that being able to help the consumers make up their minds by using my skills in branding and communication is really thrilling.
Do you feel like working at Goldforest, Inc. has changed your outlook on international branding? Has it affected the direction you would like to take your career in?
Yes, very much so. I have a much, much deeper understanding and respect for the process of branding and the amount of work and dedication that it requires. I certainly hope to work with branding in the future, or in advertising which is closely related.
What are your plans for the future?
My short term plans are to start studying International Marketing and Trade. After that, I would like to study at the Miami Ad School in the Art Director program.
Are you enjoying living in Florida? What would you say have been your most memorable experiences here in the U.S?
Picking up my family, my girlfriend and our two kids, in the airport! I came here by myself. Having them here with me is, without any doubt, the most memorable experience so far.
Boating in Greenport
Truls Langendahl, ASF trainee and marine engineer, decided to come to the United States for an in-depth training experience in wooden and fiberglass boat repair and restoration. Last November Truls was in the middle of the restoration project on the Blue Moon at Anders Langendal Boatbuilders in Greenport, a boating community located on the North Fork of Long Island New York. The Blue Moon was a local commuter boat in the 1930's, which Truls hopes will be restored to its former glory. Truls just finished replacing the keel of the Blue Moon. The keel is made out of Angelique, a species of wood with a high density of silica, which requires carbide tools to cut and shape the new keel. The stem and its structure are laminated oak. As of March 2007 Truls has replaced frames and floor timbers and made new keel bolts of Monel. Linseed oil and red lead paint is used throughout the bilge area.
Having had experience working with boats at Rindö Marine back in Sweden, the transition to his uncle's boat yard seemed ideal. However, while in Sweden, Truls' only experience had been with aluminum boats focusing mainly on hydraulic engines and water jets. Training at Anders Langendal Boatbuilders, where the main focus is on wooden and fiberglass boats, proved to be completely different. Working with wood has been harder than imagined. Truls learns every day about the various properties and environmental effects on different wood species. His training has been an all encompassing study course. He has done everything from painting a cabin roof to changing rubber moldings on modern cabin windows to replacing tanks and parts of hulls, even entire decks. You may think that these are easy tasks, that something like painting is a no-brainer, but there is an incredible amount of surface prep work. One must gauge the movements of the wood and calculate its shrinkage, once it is exposed to the elements.
The trainer, Mr. Langendal, is also quite satisfied with Truls' efforts. Truls is an enthusiastic trainee eager to learn every bit of the business. It's here at the “repair” shop where Truls can gain the most knowledge.
At the beginning Truls' assignment was a bit daunting. Even though Truls' knowledge of English is excellent he had some initial problems with the specialized technical terminology. Once overcome, it's been smooth sailing for Truls. After he is done with his training here Truls is hoping to go back to school for further studies in engineering but while he's here he wants to do more woodworking.
Father and Daughter Serve as ASF Trainees 40 Years Apart
In 1956 ASF trainee Anders H. Cederkvist, a young clerk from the Swedish village of Mariedamm, received a scholarship from the firm AB Forenade Livsmedel to travel to the United States to observe the newly created American self-service supermarkets, their marketing concepts and food distribution system. A generation later, his daughter, Angelika Roberts was an ASF trainee in quite a different field: TV and film production.
Reminiscing about his eighteen-month stay in a letter to the ASF, Cederkvist explained that “America was booming in the fifties. The post-war industry was running at its highest production level ever. Regular consumers could get excellent deals on goods and the standard of living was the highest in the world.”
During his eighteen month stay, Cederkvist spent several weeks at supermarkets and distribution points in Chicago, Long Beach and Los Angeles. He took a three month road trip across the U.S., visiting supermarkets along the way, and studied business administration at UCLA. Cederkvist brought home innovative concepts that eventually led to the creation of Sweden's first supermarket: Metro.
As a trainee, Roberts, an actress and professional film maker who lives in Stockholm, trained at Mohawk Productions/Warner Brothers Studios in Hollywood. As a member of the crew of The Drew Carey Show, she had the opportunity to assist with the production and in the lighting, costume, props and sound departments. The experience gave her an excellent overview of what it takes to produce a television show in the U.S. and was a catalyst for her next project.
Upon her return to Sweden, Roberts discovered 8 mm film from her father's trip in the 50s, inspiring her to relive the trip with her father. This past spring, the two drove along Route 66 with Roberts filming the journey. She plans to intercut footage from the trip with interviews with her father and the original's 1950s footage. As she explained, “This will be a film about my father that will explore personal dreams and visions. I will follow not only the journey he once took but also his internal journey. I also hope to follow the historical progress from the country stores to the supermarkets of today, and the development of retailing along with internationalization, individualization and the revolution of information.” Roberts received funding to make the film from Cadillac Sweden and the Swedish supermarket giant ICA.
They started their journey in New York with a visit to the ASF and a chat with the ASF's President, Edward P. Gallagher. They flew on to Los Angeles where they traveled up the coast visiting friends that Cederkvist had first made during his original stay. Roberts filmed their conversation about time changes and old friendships. Not many recognizable places remain from that time; old buildings have been replaced with new and bigger ones. They visited “Unified Western Grocers” in Long Beach where Cederkvist had been a trainee in 1957 and he noted that it had grown tremendously in the past fifty years.
Father and daughter are now back home in Sweden. Roberts has 20 hours of footage to edit into a 40 minute documentary film, which she hopes will be shown on public television.
Chemical Engineering in Sweden
Milan Alex was an American trainee with Eka Chemicals in Rollsbo, a town outside Gothenburg, in Sweden. He graduated with a B.S. in chemical engineering from Lehigh University and then moved to Sweden for a temporary assignment that turned into a permanent job. He is now working for the parent company, Akzo, in Shanghai, China, which he says is a dream come true. He writes: “I kind of owe my career to my internship assignment through ASF.”
While he was a trainee with Eka, he had these comments about this experience:
What project are you working on?
MA: I am working on a project to identify substances that cause breaks in paper machines.
Does it tie-in with your studies in chemical engineering at Lehigh?
MA:The methods of analysis and problem solving that I learned through my education as well as previous internships have helped tremendously. However, this whole field is new to me so it is exciting to learn something new everyday.
Is the work environment in Sweden different from the U.S?
MA: I have noticed a lot more camaraderie here than all my previous experiences. People get together as a group for coffee breaks, lunch, etc. However, I believe there are companies in the States that promote such an environment as well. Interestingly, any overtime I work here, I can add to my vacation. This is unheard of in the States, and add that to the 5 weeks of vacation per year and well...wow.
Any other thoughts?
MA: Swedish living is expensive, but the standard of living is very nice. The public transportation is fantastic; there really isn't a comparison to the United States. I think the Swedish people are incredibly nice and I think the right word is civilized. There is a tremendous amount of social discipline here.
Teaching in Georgia
Eva Johansson arrived in Roswell, Georgia, in early August, just a week before the children. Eva is a Swedish trainee at the Esther Jackson Elementary School in this northern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Having studied psychology at the University in Örebro, her hometown in central Sweden, Eva wanted to observe the American elementary educational system as a step in her preparation as a child psychologist and was awarded a scholarship from the Swedish International Programme Office to finance the program.
Eva writes of her training: “When I arrived in early August, the Principal, Mrs. Beth Longshore, introduced me to all the staff. Everyone was so nice to me that all the anxiety disappeared in two seconds. I assist Mrs. Angela West in her first grade class; I could not ask for a better mentor. Twice a week I also help and observe in one of the pre-kindergarten classes. I have found it interesting to be involved with the range of four to seven years olds as you really can see the development of physical, emotional, social and cognitive skills. A lot happens in those years and it's so nice to see.”
“When I talk to the children about Sweden there is a huge silence in the classroom. The children love to hear about Sweden. There is rarely any snow in Georgia, so they found if amazing that I used to ski to school when I was a little girl. Also - imagine that Miss Johansson is paying with crowns (kronor) and not dollars in her country and what kind of crowns are these that you can pay for things and also wear on your head?”
“Another person I really admire is Mrs. Pem Wilson, the School Psychologist of Fulton County who works at my school twice a week. Mrs. Wilson is a great sounding board for me. She explains terms and concepts that I want to explore more deeply and has taught me to observe objectively for reliable results. She has shown me the special observation form that you normally work with as a tool when you do class observation and lets me borrow her psychology texts.”
“At first I wondered if American children were different from Swedish children but as I got to know them I realized that they are just the same. They will sing the same type of songs, play similar games. They all love Harry Potter or Pippi Longstocking. Children are children no matter where in the world.”
“I have been lucky to have made many friends here. This summer and fall we have had lots of barbecues and I'm learning how to cook real southern barbecue food. My host, Miss Judy Kuhlman, has shown me all around Atlanta. I try to do sightseeing every weekend. Golf is one of my biggest interests and they have many nice golf courses all over Atlanta. I'm really excited about being a volunteer at the American Express Golf Championship which Atlanta is hosting.”
After the program, the exchange visitor is expected to return home, to share the experience with colleagues, family and friends.