The feeling of taking learning beyond textbooks is one that every student craves—especially as they step into early adulthood. Each curious mind is plagued with questions: Will what I’m learning actually matter in the real world? Will the hours I spend buried in case studies and spreadsheets somehow tie into my job in the future?

That's the beauty in seeing classroom concepts take shape in real-life projects. Like watching Philip Kotler’s marketing principles spring to life in a branding workshop with a client, or making sense of hundreds of data rows using a pivot table. That’s the kind of validation that fuels a student’s drive to keep learning.

Like many students seeking that crucial bridge between classroom and career, I was fortunate to experience this firsthand during the summer of 2025, when I spent five transformative weeks as a marketing intern at Clearly Blue Digital. During that time, I had the chance to contribute to projects spanning AI in event technology, edtech platforms, and even polymer manufacturing. Each task brought its own challenges and learning curves—and I loved every bit of it.

Still a B.Com student, with far more curiosity than credentials, I’m deeply grateful to the Clearly Blue team for welcoming me with open arms and treating me like one of their own from day one. They never gave me a chance to feel like I was out of my depth. Instead, they gave me what every young adult quietly hopes for: the affirmation that my perspective and voice matter. 

My journey with Clearly Blue began with a project focused on developing a customer’s profile, value proposition, and brand voice. Having only vaguely encountered these concepts in classroom lectures, I was suddenly pulled into a five-hour client meeting right from the start—both thrilling and intimidating.

While many might have questioned whether a student could contribute meaningfully to such large scale endeavours, Mrs. Padmaja Narsipur, Mrs. Linda Jacob and team fully supported me. They not only invited me to sit in on the meeting but also took my insights and observations into account afterward, incorporating them as the project progressed.

I entered this internship expecting to watch from the sidelines. Equipped with a book and a knack for quick note taking, I was ready to observe the professionals at work and make the most of my learning from afar. Given these expectations, I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself contributing to real strategies, weighing in on decisions regarding client direction based on my insights and understanding of industries. 

My experience spanned across various areas. I gained experience in analyzing competitors and carrying out social media audits to determine content strategies. I also got the opportunity to dabble in using Canva for simple designs of reports. My analytical skills were strengthened through hands-on experience with new tools, from advanced Excel features to Semrush.

But what I gained went beyond skills that I could have also picked up from an online course. I got to work beside professionals who took up marketing with the objective of delivering high value to customers, backed by expertise in their own industries. This combination allowed them to analytically approach a client's offering and help them not only promote their product, but also achieve the true objective of marketing: actually improving what they deliver to customers. 

It was through these interactions that I realized how much it was the textbooks left out. 

What they don’t teach you in the textbooks 

• Storytelling Begins With Strategy: Marketing is about building better offerings for a customer, not just prettier advertisements

• Generic Customers Don’t Exist: Knowing exactly who is going to walk through the door means you’re halfway to developing a viable product offering

• Play Detective: The marketer’s role is not merely to advertise the product– it’s to help develop the best version of the product itself

• Data points aren’t everything: Sometimes a client doesn’t give you much to go by, which is when you roll up your sleeves and dive into the industry to find your competitive advantage

• The Importance of Interaction: A large portion of gaining traction with a client is about developing content that a potential customer would want to interact with

But above all else, I learned that tools are just tools.  As we navigate this agile and evolving landscape,  where artificial intelligence is at the forefront of all innovation, students’ greatest learning can only be that our distinctly human perspective becomes our biggest asset. 

Clearly Blue exemplifies this balance perfectly, fostering a culture where human creativity takes center stage. I feel fortunate to have worked alongside such talented individuals who remind me daily that our greatest strength lies in what makes us human.