“Dude, you're right next to Megan Thee Stallion.”

‌Probably not a message most of us expect to receive… but when your face shows up on a Times Square billboard next to an image of an internationally known rapper, it feels like a natural reaction.

UNI student Lee Beauchamp got to experience this as one of American Advertising Federation’s Most Promising Students, one of only 25 in the nation and the first UNI student ever recognized in the program’s nearly 30-year history. The group of students united for a whirlwind few days of programming in New York City.

That’s a long way from Bellevue, Iowa, where Beauchamp was in a high school graduating class of 16 people. Now, the interactive digital studies (IDS) major with minors in marketing and art is reflecting on the surreal experience. 

“I have to remember the awe of it.”

The trip to the Big Apple included visits to major companies like Snapchat and Peacock, as well as advertising agencies. Beauchamp was even on the winning team as part of a pitch competition and brought home their award, a skateboard deck. 

The opportunity expanded Beauchamp’s network, provided feedback that will help their career and enhanced their resume. In addition, Beauchamp is looking forward to applying what they learned for the AAF National Student Advertising Competition, when their class pitches its advertising campaign for the NFL, judged by industry professionals. As creative director, Beauchamp led the campaign’s creative vision, with UNI taking on other colleges and universities from the region.

Being part of the National Student Advertising Competition has been a highlight of Beauchamp’s UNI experience.

“Even though I only did a small thing in the grand scheme of this whole big project, it was really fundamental to who I am today,” they said. “I learned so much about teamwork and creativity and collaboration across research and media. It really piqued my interest in advertising, too.”

Last year, Beauchamp was assistant creative director for UNI’s winning campaign for AT&T. Beauchamp recalls staying up late to work on the project, powered by pure creativity. In the early morning hours, they would send idea after idea in a Slack channel with their group members. The next day they would wake up to constructive feedback from Associate Professor of Practice Matthew Wilson, who leads the class and is the advisor to the student chapter of AAF at UNI.

It’s no wonder that when Beauchamp submitted their application for Most Promising Student, they asked Wilson to write them a letter of recommendation.

“Wilson puts in what you put back,” they said. “So if you put in a lot, Wilson's gonna put in a lot back. It's really fun to be supported by someone who's been in the advertising world.”

"I feel a real sense of pride that Lee has been recognized as an AAF Most Promising Student,” said Wilson. “Lee is an exceptionally talented and driven student whose sharp perspicacious mind and tireless work ethic are sure to make them an unstoppable force as a creative professional."

Although Beauchamp has clearly found their niche as a creative, it took time to find their chosen field. In fact, they’ve switched majors several times. Beauchamp first came to UNI thinking they wanted to be a lawyer... going from majoring in political science to philosophy to graphic design before stumbling upon the interactive digital studies major web page and realizing it was exactly what they were looking for. 

“I would describe IDS as a ‘pick and choose your own adventure.’ There is literally no other university in the state of Iowa that has something like this.”

After taking some classes, Lee was pleased to see how invested the professors were in their work and declared the major.

 “I think that's why the lawyer thing didn't really work out because there wasn't a creative outlet for me,” they explained. “I've been a naturally creative person throughout my whole life, so advertising and motion design allows me to really explore different mediums of approaching a challenge. At the end of the day, there's always a problem that needs to be solved, and you can solve it in numerous ways, but I like to solve it creatively.”

Beauchamp believes coming to UNI and going through Jump Start Scholars, an extended orientation program, was critical to finding their confidence. Now they’re confident about being exactly where they should be with the hopes of working as a motion designer after completing their UNI degree.