Pathlabs Launches Fourth Consecutive Year of YourPath Program
Heard of YourPath? This is our proprietary training initiative at Pathlabs, offering multiple layers of programming internally and externally.
One program that has become quite popular over the years is the YourPath course, sponsored by Pathlabs and instructed at the University of Montana College of Business.
On January 18th, this course will commence a new semester, marking four years of its instruction.
In celebration, we caught up with Pathlabs’ Director of Education, Kyle Kienitz, to learn more about the course and what is to come for the new semester.
Before diving into the interview, learn more about Kyle and YourPath below.
Who Is Kyle Kienitz?
Kyle is Pathlabs’ Director of Education; you may recognize him from our other blogs, to which he is a common contributor! Kyle has extensive expertise in the world of digital media advertising and tech, overseeing all YourPath operations and invigorating Pathlabs content.
What Does YourPath Offer?
YourPath offers three main layers of programming.
YourPath Academy
The YourPath Academy is our internal training and employee development program. Leveraging different education software, we use The Academy to train new employees and enrich the skills of those growing within the company.
YourPath University of Montana Course
The YourPath course, formally called Digital Media Execution, is a semester-long course offered to students at the University of Montana’s College of Business.
UM tenure-track professor Dr. Emily Plant instructs the course, with Kienitz as the direct liaison between the University and Pathlabs. We facilitate this course every Spring semester, accepting about 33-35 students at a time.
YourPath Internship
Informally serving as an extension of the YourPath course, we offer this internship opportunity to course participants and other students at the university.
Recruitment occurs in March, during the semester, and we only hire about five to six interns. Beginning in May, participants embark on a three-month internship experience, receiving initial training and then becoming active contributors to our agency partner campaigns.
For those who align well with our culture and excel in their roles, the internship acts as a stepping stone to a full-time position as a Media Coordinator, marking the commencement of a rewarding career journey with Pathlabs.
YourPath Q&A with Kyle Kienitz
Q1: Regarding the University of Montana YourPath Course, what do you look forward to in the new semester (2024)?
“Truthfully, I am most excited to take advantage of this semester to refine the curriculum, ensuring we cover the most important happenings in the industries of advertising and media execution.
Many of the trends and hot topics we only tentatively touched on in the course last year, such as GenAI and cookieless advertising, have seen large developments since. This gives us a chance to reuptake and reinvigorate commentary on these topics.
Moreover, the quality of students and their investment in the course last year was impeccable. I am very excited to see what our new cohort will bring to the table.”
Q2: What will be the primary goal of the course this semester?
“We aim to provide students with a solid primer on media execution and digital advertising.
We almost want [the course] to model the experience of actually getting a job in media, where the student is thrown into the mix, drinking from the fire hose of information, and having exposure to new topics and technologies for three months.
For those who continue on in the internship, they receive even more value by attaining hands-on, practical media exposure from performing tasks like creative asset management, campaign quality assurance, and reporting.”
Q3: How can students get the most optimal experience out of the course?
“Students should lean in and develop an overall curiosity for digital media and advertising.
They can pay close attention to the ads they see, noticing the patterns, and thinking, “Why am I seeing this ad?”. It is also key to put themselves in the shoes of the digital advertiser, working backward to understand the process of how they approached even getting an ad in front of the user in the first place.
Learning about the media industry is really like learning of any other, students should prepare for a bombardment of jargon, being ready to write stuff down and refer to it for later. This is what they will have to do for the rest of their careers.”
In Conclusion…
As the YourPath course commences on January 18th, students enrolled are in for an exciting semester. A big thanks to Kyle for his continued contributions to the course and insights on what will come!
To keep up with YourPath, you can check our YourPath webpage and connect with us on social media below.