Alan Shawgo '18
Alan Shawgo ’18 doesn’t have an official job title to describe the role he will take at St. Louis based company, Route 3 Films after graduation, but he likes to refer to himself as a “storyteller.”
The marketing major will need all the skills he has developed over the last few years at Illinois College to tell the stories of the diverse clients he will work with at Route 3 Films, a company that Shawgo interned with last summer. Their list of clients includes the St. Louis Cardinals, Autism Speaks and Ozark National Scenic Riverways. Shawgo says completing three internships — including a summer working at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and two semesters at IC’s Office of Marketing and Communication — along with guidance from IC faculty like Professor of Business Administration John Drea, has helped him gain the confidence to pursue a career in marketing and to start his own business, Shawgo Studios.
He says his experience has helped to develop a wide range of skills in areas like photography, filming, editing, graphic design and social media, plus hands-on practice working in professional settings with real clients giving him the adaptability needed to succeed in the field of marketing. For his most recent project, Shawgo Studios teamed up to produce a series of films for the Good Does Good campaign, sponsored by Jacksonville-based company Serious Lip Balm, to promote the value of small acts of kindness and their power to uplift communities. It’s the first project of its magnitude that Shawgo has worked on through his business, but one that he felt ready for as he nears graduation.
“The experiences I have had at Illinois College allowed me to explore a lot of interests. Knowing how to do so many different things prepared me for internships and what I am doing now and will allow me to branch out and take on more challenges in the future.”