Inside the New York City headquarters of advertising agency BBDO, is a worldwide network connecting creative minds across the globe. It’s a scene where artistic boundaries are limitless, transforming employees’ creative dreams into a tangible reality of advertising campaigns.

Nigel Brooks, Assistant Account Executive at BBDO and VCU Mass Communications advertising alum, referred to the organization’s theme of “The work, the work, the work,” noting that BBDO is more than a place of work, but also a place where he loves to be.

“I can honestly say some days I went in to work at 8 a.m. and left at 11 p.m., and it didn’t feel like it was a 15-hour work day, because I love what I do,” said Brooks.

Raised in Hampton Roads, Va., Brooks came to VCU and studied strategic advertising. It was during his academic career that he first discovered the “Most Awarded Agency Network in the World.”

“It is inevitable to take advertising courses and not hear of BBDO. You hear about companies such as BBDO and think about how you want to work there after graduation,” said Brooks. “It’s like a Pee Wee league football player saying he wants to go to the NFL, and then they actually make it to the NFL.”

With the encouragement of advertising Professor Scott Sherman, Brooks decided to apply for the Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP) prior to graduation in 2010. Brooks made a promise to himself that if he were selected for the prestigious program, he would pay it forward by giving back not only to his alma mater but also to organizations that support industry diversity and inclusion efforts.

In Fall 2010, Brooks came back to VCU to fulfill one of his promises by speaking to both Professor Will Sims’ and Professor Sherman’s MASC 201 Curiousness advertising class to share his experience with MAIP and encourage students to apply.

Ashlee Judon, a junior majoring in strategic advertising was one of the students who Brooks spoke with that day and encouraged to apply to MAIP.

“If it weren’t for Nigel, I honestly would have never applied to MAIP,” said Judon. “When I saw the resumes of the other candidates, I was slightly intimidated, yet I just remembered what he said to us that day in class, ‘You have to be hungry, and you must go hard.’ ‘Those words have been an immediate source of motivation for everything in my life since then, and I’m so grateful that we met and have had the opportunity to be friends, industry associates and fellow MAIPers.”

Even with 15-hour work days and the commitments of serving as a Co-Chair on the board for the Mosaic Alumni and Friends Association (MAFA), a network of advertising and communications professionals, Brooks also dedicates every Saturday to volunteer his time at the Blue Nile Passage, Inc., a non-profit character development and mentoring program for African-American youths.

“Since knowing Nigel, I have seen him conduct himself with the utmost amount of integrity,” said Ephraim Jackson, Assistant Program Director at the Blue Nile Passage, Inc., “He is an excellent mentor because he has a strong sense of professional direction that allows him to navigate through the corporate culture.”

Reminiscing on his days as a VCU student nearing graduation, Brooks was determined to make a name for himself in the advertising community, and he is now on his way to making his dream a reality.