When faced with a deadly pandemic, an economic depression, canceled internships, and a summer break in lockdown, 60 Brandcenterers saw these unprecedented challenges as a call to something greater: to serve their hurting community with their extraordinary talents. They came together to build the Brandcenter’s first student-run creative shop—and in just two months, The Carriage House opened its virtual doors to their first client partners.

A dynamic launch team from all tracks assisted Carriage House leadership (Shannon Gill, CW 2021; Chrissy Boals, AD 2021; Dinma Onykewere, CBM 2021; Kimberly Burgess, CBM 2021; Alexandra Daniel, ST 2021; Sophie Whitfield, XD 2021) in building the all-remote Carriage House from the ground up in just two months. We officially launched on June 1st, and finished pro bono work for over two dozen clients by the end of August.

In that time, we were more than interns—we did every aspect of the work from start to finish. We communicated directly with client partners, developed strategies and comms plans, set and met deadlines, and pitched real creative work. With the help of dozens of alumni, industry, and faculty mentors, we gained professional connections and valuable career skills that can take years to develop outside of school. Most importantly, our efforts provided small businesses with creative solutions for surviving and thriving in the midst of a global crisis—and of all the summer’s accomplishments, this remains the one of which we are most proud.