Interns@AutoCom

I cannot believe that today is my last working day at AutoCom. It still feels like yesterday when I first drove down Woodward, guided by Google maps, driven crazy by the American traffic as well as the Michigan left, and being so excited to start my internship. This was my first working experience in the field of Marketing and PR; I was not sure what I had to expect.   During the first weeks Niko and Merle were still in the office and patiently explained to me all my duties and the company culture. After they left, I was the only intern for some weeks. Merle was still helping from Germany, but the distance meant much more independence. Firstly I was not sure, how I would be able to handle it. But retrospectively this was the time when I learned the most and I lost my doubts as well as my uncertainty. I started to work independently and began to be much more confident, thanks to Merle and Denise who always encouraged and supported me. Both are not only fun to work with, I also ...

Hi everybody, We would like everyone to know that Johnny recently received the Oakland University Writing Excellence Award for his essay titled “The Gentrification of Detroit.” He was awarded first place in the analytical essay category. His seven page essay explored the issue of urban renewal and revitalization in Detroit, and its negative impacts on low-income residents; particularly African-Americans. The Writing Excellence Award is bestowed in seven distinct categories to the top three submissions in each. The winners receive a monetary prize, and will be honored at an awards luncheon Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 11:30am, on the campus of Oakland University. Congratulations, Johnny! Furthermore he got published at the Huffington Post with an article about the water crisis in Flint. You can find it here !

Hello Everybody, There has been a lot going on in the past few weeks, including Detroit’s annual auto show. So please excuse us for not posting as much as usual. Although we were quite busy, we definitely enjoyed being part of Motown’s most popular and exciting event.  Nicole and I were assisting the AutoCom Team supporting our clients, Alcantara and HELLA ─ a really valuable experience. Last Sunday we had the chance to attend the APA media breakfast and to walk through the auto-show before the COBO Center opened its doors to the public. Our Sunday morning began much earlier than usual, but it was worth it. At 7 a.m. we already were heading toward downtown Detroit and arrived at the media breakfast at 7:30. After we finally found the right meeting room, we enjoyed some croissants, cereals and coffee. As guests of the Press Association we had free and exclusive entry to the floor of the auto show. Many thanks to Merle, who made this experience possible! I also am proud to be ...

Hi everybody! Finally, we are back and we have a couple of good stories for you. First of all, it snowed only once so far and we had a small ice storm, but on all other days the weather is just fine. However, when it started snowing, it was snowing the whole day and we had a power cut. But it turned out pretty romantic, with all the candles we were lighting up :) Nashville Atlanta Furthermore I can proudly tell, we made it to Nashville and Atlanta. Especially, when we headed back, it took us forever. It was raining like crazy and due to a lot of accidents that happened, we barely moved forwards, so we arrived at 1am in the morning. But we had a great time! We went line dancing at the Wilde Horse Saloon; had some great burgers and we had a tour through Nashville learning about all the great Country singers and places they were performing at. Nashville and Atlanta are absolute gorgeous cities and we had a great time there. A week ago we went to the ballet “The Nutc...

Celebrating Boxing Day was a new experience. When I joined the AutoCom team I expected to learn new and exciting things, but it never occurred to me that I might be introduced to a new holiday. What a pleasant surprise indeed! Larry hosted a small gathering at his home to celebrate Boxing Day, and it was a splendid event. I met several interesting and distinguished individuals, and had the chance to sample some of Larry's exquisite wines. Larry has an extensive collection, and is clearly a wine aficionado. Johnny L. Ricks

Hi everybody, The important things first: Sophia is one year older now J Sadly a lot of our friends were ill, so we weren’t as many as planned for her birthday dinner, but that did not stop us from having a really good time. We went to a restaurant and had some delicious sushi! Afterwards, we met up with some other friends at my place and had a piece of birthday cake. It was a really fun evening and I am sure Sophia had a great time. And as I told you in my last blog post, we were at a football game in Lansing and it was simply amazing! So many people for a college sports-event? Unimaginable in Germany! We took off quite early, so we could enjoy the atmosphere and to get some food prior to the game. Poor us, after serving us drinks, our waitress was never to be seen again.   And since it was a really cold day, we couldn’t stay till the end of the game. It was absolutely freezing. So we decided to stop somewhere for dinner, but that was not a too good of an idea. The fo...

Hi everybody, it’s Nicole again. As Sophia promised I will tell you about Halloween in Detroit. First of all, Americans are crazy about everything like skulls, monsters and pumpkins. In every backyard was at least one skeleton and we have seen a big monster hanging around in our neighbors’ garden. And not to forget all those lights!  To keep this tradition going, my roommates and me decorated our house as well and bought a lot of snacks, since we wanted to invite our friends for a Halloween party. Of course a costume was required, but Sophia and I were pretty late for costumes, so we tried one day before Halloween to get in a store and buy some. Well yeah, this surprisingly did not work out; there were just too many people!  So we tried to order online and kept our fingers crossed. :)  Lucky us, they came just in time for the party. Just in case you don’t know: You do not have to look scary at all. In my opinion, if there wasn’t any scary decoration, ...