Ayesha Baweja

Get to know some of our College of Media Students! Ayesha Baweja is a Class of 2024 CS + advertising major.  

Why did you decide on majoring in Computer Science + Advertising and what made the College of Media stand out to you?
I grew up in the Bay Area, where everything is so tech focused. I gained an appreciation for the tech industry and quickly learned that computer science is a big part of so many career fields. I knew I wanted to incorporate CS somehow in my studies. Specifically, I wanted a major that would combine both my interest in the creative side of business and design with the technological aspect of CS. However, there weren’t many programs where I could implement all of them, besides CS + advertising. This is why I enrolled in the school since the College of Media offered this degree. I don’t think I would’ve been happy doing just computer science or just advertising since I wanted to engage in both sides of things. Having that combination of fields stood out to me and brought me to this school. After being a part of the college for four years, I have a greater appreciation for how small the college is. It’s more personal, I get to talk to my advisor all the time, and I get to be more involved. I genuinely feel like I’m a big part of the College of Media and can feel my impact here.

What has been your favorite experience being a part of the College of Media?
ADV 392: Advertising Immersion has been a great opportunity. This has been one of my favorite classes I’ve ever taken! This was my first chance to immerse myself in hands-on experience working with a client. As a result of this class experience, I was able to get my summer internship with Apple Inc. last year. In that internship, I got to do campaign optimization for the App Store team. I was on the food and drink team, so I worked with clients like Taco Bell and Door Dash. Also, through the internship, I got to compete in their intern competition and pitch an idea to Apple executives and won first place. The entire experience was so cool, especially when I never imagined working with such a company.

What are your career goals after graduation?
I have a job at The Trade Desk, which is an advertising technology company. I am going to be a client services associate for them. This is a 12-week training program, and then I will get placed in a trading analyst role or client services role. I’m excited as it is in New York City. I think the RSO, the American Advertising Federation at Illinois, or AAF, was important not only for getting my future job but also for my internship with Apple. I attended the student career conference with AAF my sophomore year, which is where I met The Trade Desk. Since then, I’ve remained in contact with them. I’ve been a part of AAF for four years and its advertising competition team, NSAC, and I’m the president of it now. For the competition, we’re given a company to create an ad campaign for. We have eight months to build the campaign and then we compete with other groups and their campaign. Last year we got 2nd place for Indeed, and 3rd place the year before for Meta Quest, and we will compete this year in April with our current campaign focusing on Tide. Being a part of NSAC helped me gain true-life experience in advertising, which I think helped me later in getting my internship and my job at The Trade Desk. Overall, AAF and NSAC were truly life-changing. Having these spaces and being able to meet new people helped, especially during COVID because of quarantine.

—Interview by Nathan Gonzalez, New Voices Intern