Liz Tarry ’17, AdLib Co-Chair "It's been exciting to serve in this role and see others get interested in the advertising field, as well as having the opportunity to spend time and plan with several fabulous members of the Williams School staff."

“Meeting W&L alumni from the marketing and advertising fields has been incredibly rewarding.”

Liz Tarry ’17

What first interested you in Adlib? How did you first get involved?

I got involved in the AdLib Conference after taking AdClass from Professor Bower. That class was instrumental in fostering my love for the advertising/communications world, and just generally in teaching me plenty of valuable skills. Last year’s conference was, for me, an affirmation of my interest in marketing and advertising, and in the speakers that returned I found a convergence of several of my personal interests, including art, design and history.

What is your current role in the organization, and what are some of the challenges and rewards you’ve found in that role?

Being Co-Chair of the AdLib Conference means that Camille and I also serve as AdClass advisors and spend a lot of time mentoring students in the class, as well as in a planning capacity to prepare for the National Student Advertising Competition in March. It’s been exciting to serve in this role and see others get interested in the advertising field, as well as having the opportunity to spend time and plan with several fabulous members of the Williams School staff.

If you share the role, how do you and your counterpart divide the responsibilities?

Camille and I work very well together – we share common leadership roles in several other organizations, so we’ve learned to be a good team. I’ve found that consistent communication has been the most important lesson we’ve learned in planning the AdLib Conference, but otherwise, Camille is an incredibly talented designer and she makes working together super easy.

How would you characterize your experience in one word? Why?

Adaptive. The media world is changing so rapidly and encompasses so many different disciplines (analytics, computer science, social media, art, sociology, etc.) that it takes a concentrated effort to keep up with what’s happening and apply that to our planning.

What has been the most rewarding experience with this organization?

Meeting W&L alumni from the marketing and advertising fields has been incredibly rewarding. Going through the unique experience of AdClass creates a meaningful bond and having the opportunity to connect with these alumni when they return for the AdLib Conference has been invaluable in fostering support for the advertising field at W&L.

What has been the most challenging experience?

Embracing failure has been the most challenging, but also the most lasting lesson I’ll take from this experience. Creating an advertising campaign was a daily lesson in learning from failure, and planning the AdLib Conference has been difficult in generating interest and awareness among students of the possibility of a career in the marketing/advertising field.

What have you learned about leadership in this role, and what other lessons will you take with you going forward?

Positivity and constant communication is imperative for success in leadership, and that’s something we’ve absolutely learned throughout this process, but otherwise I believe that leadership, as one quote puts it, is taking more than your share of the blame and less than your share of the credit.

What advice would you give to students who may be interested in getting involved?

I’d love to tell students that in the advertising world, everyone has something to offer. Whether you’re a math or an art history major, it’s a field that requires different types of knowledge. A group of solely business majors can’t fully understand the entire consumer population and produce an effective integrated campaign. That’s a myth whose time has come.