“Imagine, if you will, a multi-story Hot Wheels track as you enter the building, complete with multiple loop-de-loops,” shares course co-instructor and CC Economics and Business Professor Dan Johnson. “And that’s just the atrium.”
It was a historic first for both CC and the Mattel Company: a cohort of twenty students and two professors embedded for nine days at the iconic toymaker’s headquarters in Los Angeles, learning from company experts about the toy-making process from concept through creation. This is where Barbie, Hot Wheels, American Girl, and Thomas & Friends come to life.
Curious undergrads from multidisciplinary backgrounds, who are used to learning a lot quickly, came into the half-credit/quarter-internship Half Block with eyes wide open, their sense of wonder engaged.
“I really did feel like a kid again while immersed in the halls of Mattel,” says Olivia Xerras ’24, an International Political Economy major and Journalism minor who played with Barbies growing up. “We listened to different presentations each morning from different departments, and we toured the facility, everywhere from marketing and finance to the people who put the hair on the Barbie doll’s head.”
“When we got a tour of the Handler Team Center, it was the coolest office space I’ve ever seen,” adds Arez Khidr ’25, a Computer Science and History double major. “This is where the Hot Wheels team works on toys at their desks. They cultivate fun. They encourage play and the space is very open and free flowing.”
Ryan Bañagale co-instructed the course, approaching it through his lens as a CC professor of Music and director for the Crown Center for Teaching.
“As someone who’s very invested in introducing students to the creative process, I want students to see industries, employers, and organizations that value creativity beyond CC,” Bañagale says. “Some of the ways we think about creativity at CC are also happening at Mattel.”
Each day, the students experienced a curricular module. For Consumer Insights, they learned how Mattel gathers data about children and their patterns of play, and about parents and their patterns of purchasing.
“How do you plan and integrate those insights?” Johnson continues. “We did modules in finance, marketing, brand strategy, and retail partners. We even stocked shelves at a Target store, learning why product placement is so important.” Every nuance a shopper takes for granted is studied beforehand, which is why toy displays are different at Walmart and Toys R Us because the shopping experience is different.
Mattel also organized a buddy program for the students, pairing each with a recent college graduate who shared not only what working for Mattel is like, but their pathway to employment.
“When does a school ever offer something like this?” asks Khidr. “When do you get to go to a corporation like this – especially one as popular as Mattel? I thought it was an amazing opportunity.”
Khidr figured he’d end up in a programming job after graduation, but that’s now changed.
“This course has shaped what I see myself doing after college. They gave us a breakdown of the company. It’s so big and complex, from production to marketing, there are so many roles I didn’t know were needed,” he says. “The marketing and branding really appealed to me as something I could do in the future.”
“It would be a dream to work for them,” adds Xerras. “They want creative, worldly thinkers, which I think the Block Plan cultivates.”
Johnson and Bañagale waded through many CC applicants for this course, which they’re calling a “liberal arts-guided, intensive micro-internship Block.” They specifically selected students from different disciplines and years, paying close attention to diversity and inclusiveness, so the cohort could see the experience through each other’s positionalities.
“I wondered how the Economics students were processing this, or the Psychology students, or History students,” shares Johnson. “We asked the students each day how they might learn from their different eyes, ears, and lenses.” To this end, students engaged in reflective exercises in individual journals provided by CC’s Creativity and Innovation program.
One goal was to encourage the students to voice their experiences in ways that were differentially powerful. What the CC students brought to Mattel were fresh eyes, fresh ears, and a fresh experience, without having their culture baked in and without being acclimated to how Mattel does things. Their aim was to bring new insights to Mattel’s finance, retail, and marketing departments.
Another goal was to get students to spark their own potential in any professional field out there. “This Mattel Block is a catalyst for what’s possible,” says Bañagale. “Students sometimes get tunnel vision within their major because they focus on the methodologies of that field. We wanted to see how different disciplines approach making a toy. It invited our students to move in different directions and to realize their degree is much more than its major. It’s about the ability to stretch and grow, even after graduation.”
The strongest takeaways for Johnson were “how very powerful a very short time can be; how transformative for students; how impactful to their futures. There wassomuch personal growth and professional development for students.”
And for Mattel’s Jesse Ross, Vice President of Talent, the experience was equally impactful.
“It was truly inspiring to collaborate with the talented students from Colorado College. Witnessing their eagerness to learn about how Mattel operates reinforced my belief in the power of diverse thinking,” Ross says. “The exchange of knowledge was not only valuable for them, but also enriched our thinking and processes. Working together was a testament to the endless possibilities that arise when different perspectives come together to create something extraordinary.”
The objective now, says Bañagale, is how to further develop this relationship. “The course is unique compared to a field study, a study abroad, or other community-engaged experience. We were fully embedded onsite for nine days. There’s a lot to take in.”
“How soon can we do this again?” Johnson asks. “How many partners might we offer this to? This is something CC would uniquely do well: instructors who know how to do this kind of work, students who spend weeks on one subject — no other institution in the world can do it like we can do it.”
The micro-Block culminated with final presentations surrounding Mattel’s upcoming 80th anniversary—exciting ideas to mark the milestone. Ultimately, students were asked how Mattel will face the future with respect to the past. How do you take a nearly 80-year-old company and face forward, not backward?
“Mattel is trying to be forward-looking while recognizing tradition. Traditions, patterns, habits that have worked well. People tend to rely on what works well,” says Johnson. “Innovators build on what they know while edging into what they don’t know.”
“We all had different skillsets, different majors, and different backgrounds, so we had a variety of perspectives from each group,” says Xerras. “We had a short time to put together a presentation. It tested my abilities to be quick on my feet and stay organized and focused.”
“That was a challenge,” adds Khidr. “It was essentially a culmination of everything we learned. But I loved it so much—being put in those pressure situations where you have to show up. I truly came away believing all the employees liked the ideas we proposed and feel we definitely were able to provide some value for Mattel.”
Bañagale and Johnson say the students were on message, on brand, and on target. They fully achieved the desired learning outcomes.
“They were remarkably thoughtful, insightful, and creative,” says Johnson. “One exec said they were already working on one of the ideas, which showed how much the students were on point. Another said to a fellow exec, ‘are you texting this to <blank> in the toy development division? Because we need to do this right away!’”
“It was a huge win in my book,” says Xerras. “Being able to learn from both professors—they were incredible leaders. I’ve never had a class with either. And having the opportunity to learn from them and from the Mattel leaders was really exciting.”
The students also met with alums, explored L.A., and enjoyed different field experiences during the course.
For a cohort of college students who started their journey during a global pandemic, this Half Block served as an intense space to interact with other students with whom they may not have otherwise had contact. They also came away with new friends.
“To witness a group of 20 students being strangers come together as a cohort and watch them become a close and supportive team was powerful. They’ll continue to cultivate that connectivity with an increased network both on campus and off,” adds Bañagale. “The beauty of the experience is that it is proof of the concept that these sorts of courses will benefit our students and demonstrate the kinds of classes we offer going forward.”
Leave a comment