People Who Keep Collegis Running: Andrew Madetzke

Let us introduce you!

Marketers, designers, software engineers … these are just a few of the people who dive into each of our partners’ missions, goals and values in order to create technology-enabled revenue and enrollment growth solutions. Every single person at Collegis is integral to our ability to deliver for our partners. Recently, we sat down with Associate Creative Director Andrew Madetzke to find out who he is and what he does.

How do you describe your job to people outside of your field?

I help shape and represent the look and feel of brands to help make concepts and ideas come to life.

How is your role key to supporting our partners?

What we do is front and center for the partner — and pretty much everyone else — to see. Design and layout work hand-in-hand with messaging so if those are successful, the partner is generally pretty happy.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

I love the fast-paced nature [of it] and the problem-solving needed to look past the obvious solutions. We work with so many brands that each one offers a unique opportunity and challenge to present them in the right way.

What do you most enjoy about working at Collegis?

I’ve worked with some amazing people in my time at Collegis so they would have to be on the top of the list.

I also like that Collegis is a living, breathing entity that is constantly growing and evolving to provide what the market needs. I’ve been here since we started and it’s evolved so much in five years.

Why were you drawn to work in higher ed?

My mom is a special education teacher so I’ve always been interested in working in the field of education. Higher ed is interesting because every institution has something unique to offer and comes with its own challenges as well. As a designer, this offers a great variety and a healthy challenge on a daily basis.

What is one thing you’ve learned about higher ed since you started working at Collegis?

There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every college is unique and offers its own strengths and challenges. We have to take the same custom approach when it comes to representing their brands.

What do you most value today from the experience you had as a college student?

I transferred after my first year of college so I was able to experience the “college search” a little bit extra as a student. That has come in handy when we’re working on new partners and are looking for key differentiators … what do we think will help the school stand out to potential students?

Is there a particular project at Collegis that you worked on that is memorable or that you are proud of?

We created a history-of-surgery animated video for one college. This was a content piece that was pretty straightforward initially, but we took it way further than any of us imagined. It was a lot of work in a tight timeframe and pushed us in terms of illustration and animation, but I am really happy and proud of the end product.

What are some typical questions you get from either coworkers or partners?

• Do you have five minutes?
• Do we have coffee?
• Do you want to get coffee?
• Ohh, what are YOU working on?
• Do we have everything we need to move forward?
• How can we make this more clear?
• When can we show this to the partner?
• How will this perform?
• How old is that coffee?

What skills do you need to do your job?

• Creative problem solving.
• Strong attention to detail.
• The desire and ability to ask questions.
• Strong communication.

Snapshot

Three words that describe your role: Fast-paced, ideation, communication

Qualities sought in new hires: Smart, passionate and curious weirdos

College: University of Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Degree: Bachelor of Arts in Art (Graphic Design) and Media Studies (Video Production)

What is on your bucket list? Publish a graphic novel.

What is the last app you downloaded to your mobile phone and/or tech tool you purchased for yourself? Adobe Photoshop Sketch — I love to draw and illustrate.