Summer is almost upon us. And along with the arrival of mosquitoes, rising thermometers and tropical storms comes those ambitious college kids who have sobered up long enough to hold a summer job. In addition to bringing us our coffee, our new batch of interns are getting lots of professional experience. Read on to find out about the few…the proud…the BlackDog Summer Interns.

Aly Perez
Aly Perez is currently a senior advertising student at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications with an outside concentration in art and art history. She was born and raised in Miami, Florida and attended the Honors College at Miami Dade College for the first two years before transferring to the University of Florida. Aly hopes to spend the next couple of years learning as much as she can about the advertising business with our Miami advertising agency and gaining enough experience to one day open her own.

At the University of Florida, when she’s not excelling in her studies, she can be found entertaining the crowds at football games as her alter ego—Alberta Gator, the official mascot for the University of Florida. Aly enjoys reading, drawing, scuba diving, and pretty much anything that has to do with computers.

Max Flugrath
Max Flugrath is a junior at Florida State University where he is majoring in Studio Art with a focus on Digital Media. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Max was an art student in a magnet program for both middle and high school. He began painting in his early teens and had his work hanging in Miami art galleries at the age of 15. When he was 16, he sold his first painting at the famous Coconut Grove Art Show in Miami, Florida.

During junior year in high school, Max was a member of the varsity basketball team that went on to win the state championship. He was also recognized for his artistic talents and awarded several scholarships, as well as a showing in the well-known gallery walk in Mayfair, Coconut Grove, Florida. As part of his concentration work in his junior year, Max combined his love of basketball, basketball sneakers and abstract art to create abstract designs. It was these paintings that lead him to found his own small online business featuring his artwork on t-shirts and prints.