North, south, east and west, Waggener Edstrom’s (WE) arms spread far and wide. But just how far and how wide? We set out to discover what makes each WE location unique, and what working for WE on the other side of the globe might look like.
So, we asked past and current WE interns from the US and abroad — New York, Austin, San Francisco, Singapore and Johannesburg — to share their experience and help us better understand each location’s unique place in the WE family. Click on the images below to meet a few friendly faces.
What we learned
When we started this project, we expected to dig up some fun facts, figure out how far WE has expanded around the world and meet a few people outside our current office. But as we began to conduct interviews and piece together this post, we began to notice how the culture we live in shapes our communication style — everything from the words we use to the information we choose to share.
Fascinated by our differences and similarities, we found ourselves coordinating chats with our fellow interns after hours, learning important lessons about international business and building friendships across oceans along the way.
We noticed that each interviewee highlighted WE’s unique agency culture as a treasured part of their job, and we took note of a few characteristics us interns seemed to share, regardless of location or language: ambition, curiosity, a sense of humor and pride for their city.
Hats off to discovery, to culture and to hoping that these new national and international relationships grow just as solid as WE’s global presence.
Now for your turn to discover:
Learn more about our fellow WE-people! Click on a city or country below for fun facts and a colorful Q&A with a recent or current WE intern.
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CAMY CHENG
INTERN, TECH PRACTICE
WE Office: Singapore
Number of employees: 42
Fun fact: Singapore is made up of only one main island. It has 63 other miniature islands, a large percentage of which are uninhabited.
Q] What is your current position/team?
A] I’m an intern with the Tech team here in the WE SG office.
Q] How long have you been an intern?
A] I’ve been here since the end of June, so December is my sixth and final month in WE as an intern.
Q] What do you love most about working at WE?
A] I like the culture at the SG office a lot, everyone is warm and friendly and I was able to fit in. My colleagues are what make work so enjoyable, and they are the reason why I love working at WE! They made the office a fun place, which made me look forward to work every day. In fact, many of my colleagues have become my friends and we’re spending time together outside of work! I find it good that we’re able to talk and understand each other beyond just colleagues, this definitely made the working environment fun and pleasant.
I learned a lot from my colleagues over the past few months here. Despite a steep learning curve, my managers were very nurturing and provided me with lots of opportunities to explore and showcase my potential.
Q] Do you have a favorite moment or project you’d like to share with us?
A] I love the brainstorming sessions here at WE. Everyone makes it so stress-free and it’s very easy to just throw in any crazy ideas! They say “no idea is a bad idea” anyway.
Q] If you weren’t working in PR, what would you be doing?
A] I love to travel, so if I’m not working in PR, I’d probably be traveling the world!
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MUSA DUBE
INTERN
WE Office: Johannesburg, South Africa
Number of employees: 23
Fun Fact: A rich archaeological site known as the Cradle of Humankind lies on the outskirts of the city. 40 percent of the planet’s human ancestor fossils have been discovered in the Jo’burg area.
Q] When did you start your internship? How’s it going?
A] I began my internship in the beginning of June 2014 and almost six months in I’m still pushing forward, a testament to the great organisation that is Waggener Edstrom. Challenge is a part of any job and I have overcome a few along the way, but it’s been such an incredible learning experience and a wonderful opportunity for me to learn all about communications.
Q] Are you originally from Johannesburg? What do you love about it?
A] Yes Johannesburg is home. The city of gold has so many secret gems which I love, it’s hard not to fall for its charm. I would never trade Jozi — pronounced ‘Joe-Zee’ — or Jo’burg, as it is popularly known, for anything in the world.
Jo’burg is a great place for young professionals to get their careers started and is one of Africa’s biggest economic hubs and also home to the world’s youngest youth population. Like the gold on which the city was built, Johannesburg’s treasures take a bit of digging to uncover!
Q] How would you describe the culture at the Johannesburg office?
A] The company culture at WE Joburg is one unlike any that I have experienced before. I am surrounded by exceptionally talented people, who make this organisation the wonderful place that it is. There’s an eclectic mix of great personalities, the team camaraderie is quite special and the energy and drive is just absolutely incredible.
Q] What do you want others to know about Johannesburg?
The culture in Johannesburg is extraordinarily fast-paced, unlike any other city in SA and can capture one’s heart. The city’s distinctive skylines, bustling metropolis, diverse cultures and warm and friendly people is the reason why I love everything about this city. It’s SA’s shopping mecca with plenty of malls and markets, local and international designer stores, beautiful warm weather year-round, serene picturesque beauty and an abundance of wildlife just an hour or two away. There’s never a dull moment in this city!
Q] What’s your favorite part about working at WE?
A] I’m a firm believer that one should always have something to look forward to, and what could be better than having a few enjoyable accounts to work on. I learn more and develop more each day and I have come to appreciate this industry even more and the opportunities it has to offer. The opportunity to continuously collaborate and learn has provided me with more than practical experience, it has allowed career advancement and development.
Q] What do you do for fun?
A] You’ll probably find me at 44 Stanley Avenue in Milpark, in central Jo’burg where a cluster of former workshops and garages have been transformed into courtyards of quirky little shops, art galleries and cafés.
Or you’ll find me at Arts on Main, which is a creative hub in Jo’burgs arts-redeveloped urban neighbourhood, Maboneng precinct. The district has a number of artists, studios, galleries, eateries, retail and an array of events every weekend. It’s quite a unique environment for the city’s creative community to develop and share ideas.
I also enjoy music festivals, hopping on a road trip or attending sports games with my boys and contributing features on my lady’s blog / website.
Q] If you weren’t a PR professional, what you be?
A] A nomad travelling the world and writing for a publication at Condé Nast in NYC, I won’t mention which one 
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CAROLINE SPRAGUE
ACCOUNT COORDINATOR, TECH PRACTICE
WE office: Austin, Texas (USA)
Number of employees: 15
Fun fact: Austin is home to North America’s largest urban bat population. They live in deep, narrow openings under the Congress Avenue Bridge and consume between 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects nightly.
Q] How long have you been working here?
A] I’m currently an Account Coordinator in Waggener Edstrom’s Tech Practice. I started out as an intern this past summer and was hired on at the end of my internship!
Q] How would you describe the culture at the office?
A] The Austin office is outspoken and loud! We always have music blaring and are talking to each other constantly. There are only about 15 of us here, so it’s a pretty close-knit group.
Q] What do you love most about working at WE?
A] I love how open everyone is to questions! If I have something that needs answering, about five of my colleagues are ready to answer me!
Q] Are you originally from Austin? What do you love about the city?
A] I’m originally from Houston but moved to Austin to go to the University of Texas. Hook ‘em! When it came time to graduate from college, I couldn’t bring myself to move away.
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ERI MIZOBE
ACCOUNT COORDINATOR, SWAT TEAM
WE office: New York City, New York (USA)
Number of employees: 27
Fun fact: There are more than 200 languages spoken in New York City, making it one of the most diverse cities on the planet.
[Q] How long have you been working at Waggener Edstrom?
[A] I was a WE tech practice intern at the NY office this summer, so I’ve been working here since June. I’m going into my sixth month now — time flies!
[Q] How would you describe the culture at the office?
[A] I think that being in NY, we tend to stay at the office a little later in the evenings, but we also start our mornings a little later. Our office has about 30 employees, so it’s great to be able to see everyone on a daily basis. Everyone is really friendly but during the day, we’re all quite focused at our desks. I really enjoy our bonding activities such as our phenomenal potlucks and our monthly office happy hours. It gives us a chance to relax together!
[Q] How would you describe the culture in New York? What would you want others to know about the city?
[A] I love NY! I went to Oregon for school so it’s quite a change, but having grown up in big cities such as Honolulu, Singapore and Hong Kong, I feel quite at home in NY. I would definitely say that people here are driven and hardworking, which is great to be surrounded by. With that, though, I think that you really need to know what you want to do and accomplish in order to thrive in this city and not get distracted by all the noise. Other things I’ve learned about NY are: you’ll quickly develop a strong love-hate relationship with the subway, you will never run out of amazing brunch options, you’ll become pro at apartment hunting via Craigslist, and you’ll perfect your fast-walking skills!
[Q] How does your location affect your work or clients?
[A] One of the main reasons why I wanted to move to NY for my career is because it’s a hub for all things media and business. It’s really valuable to be able to meet both clients and reporters in person, and building strong relationships with them will in turn lead to better results.
[Q] What do you love most about working at WE?
[A] I would definitely have to say the people! As cliché as it sounds, I really think that my coworkers here are genuinely caring and always willing to help. Even with people at other WE offices — it’s always easy to ping someone and set up a phone or video chat. It’s nice to know that there’s always people supporting you. Another thing I love about WE is that from the time I was an intern, my supervisors have trusted me to take ownership of projects. That has fed into my work as an AC, and it’s invaluable to be able to get my hands dirty in client-facing work. At times, it can be scary but it’s also rewarding when you see your hard work pay off.
[Q] If you could work at any other WE office, which would it be and why?
[A] That’s a tough one — I’ve heard that the Texas office has a fun crew that I’d love to meet! Also, probably the Seattle office because it’s home for many of my teammates and it’s much larger than the NY office so I’d like to experience what it’s like.
[Q] What do you like to do for fun?
[A] I’m a huge foodie, so I love trying out new restaurants in the city and Yelp has become an app I use on a daily basis. I also love fashion, so I like to window shop on my downtime; I have my own jewelry store on Etsy and I like looking for inspiration. Other things I enjoy are ice skating, cooking, traveling, going to musicals or dance performances, and spending time with family and friends.
[Q] If you weren’t working in PR, what would you be doing?
[A] This is a hard one to answer! Growing up abroad has instilled a great sense of wanderlust in me so I’d have to say, perhaps I’d be a travel writer. I think it would be fun to review restaurants and hotels, and learn about different cultures at the same time.
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CAITLIN VALTIERRA
ACCOUNT COORDINATOR, TECH PRACTICE
WE office: San Francisco, California (USA)
Number of employees: 23
Fun fact: The Beatles gave their last full concert in San Francisco — at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966. Fans paid between $4.50 and $6.50 for tickets.
Q] How would you describe the culture at the SF office?
A] Everyone here is very smart and pretty laid back. People are equally as excited to talk about the best pizza in the city as they are about the future of wearables.
Q] What do you want others to know about your city? What do you love about it?
A] San Francisco is the best city in the world. If you don’t know that, you’re doing it wrong. (The humble opinion of a bias local.)
Born and raised on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge, I love being able to hop on the ferry or drive in to explore the city. I also enjoy the fast pace and the insane amount of diversity packed into less than 49 square miles. Plus we’ve been world champions for three out of the five past years (GO GIANTS!).
Q] How does your location affect your work or clients?
A] I get to work in tech PR for a firm based a stone’s throw away from the cradle of innovation. You do the math. Kidding. Well half kidding, as we obviously have an advantage with many tech companies working so close by. For example, we’re able to meet in person with clients on a weekly basis without any real travel time.
Q] Any funny work memories you’d like to share?
A] Watching Lisa Allen try to down a warm Smirnoff Ice during our office’s “Fun Day.”
Q] What do you like to do for fun?
A] These all seem very cliché San Francisco but hiking, concerts and going to brunch (can that count?)
Q] If you could work at any other WE office, which would it be and why?
A] The NY office holds an appeal because, like WE SF, it’s in the process of growing in size and learning how to collaborate across practices.
