This is the first of a series in which we profile NYU students who balance their school schedules with a variety of different jobs.

Lizzie Maguire — yes, that’s her real name — is a Gallatin sophomore taking a full course load and working upward of 35 hours a week as an intern at Livindini and Co., a boutique brand strategy and PR firm. On the days she has class, you might catch her walking around campus with a signature cashmere beanie and a determined face.

The hours are grueling. Maguire’s day starts at 9 a.m. and ends at either 7 or 8 p.m. To fit work into her schedule, Maguire has managed to fit 16 credits into two days: Monday and Wednesday. For the other three work days, Maguire is in the office. While Maguire is able to balance work and play, there are definite tradeoffs.

“It can get stressful,” Maguire said. “More stress is coming from living on campus, if I want to see people, I have to make more of a conscious effort.”

However for Maguire, this is all worth it. She realizes that this is only the beginning of her career and that she is still in a learning environment.

“I think it will be more stressful when we start getting real work, start real careers,” Maguire said.

However, her job is well worth the disadvantages. At work, Maguire deals with brands like Lord & Taylor daily. Even more impressive is that the founder of the company was the head buyer and merchandiser of Saks Fifth Avenue. By interning during the school year, Maguire is able to make meaningful and important connections.

“What matters more?” Maguire said. “If I have a 4.0 in one class or a recommendation from the buyer of Saks?”

This summer, Maguire worked at the cosmetic company Laura Mercier. Maguire managed a majority of their fall advertising social media campaign.

“Our generation is generally just much more tech savvy,” Maguire said. “I was teaching people how to use Instagram.”

However, Maguire wanted to branch out and enter other industries. Leaving cosmetics behind, Maguire took on an unpaid internship at Livindini and Co. She does not regret it. As a result of her many internships, she believes that her experience is more valuable than her transcript.

“I think once you get to a certain point in your career, especially coming out of NYU, experience is going to outweigh GPA, I’ve worked for all these firms, I don’t have to be trained,” Maguire said. “You can beat out people that have stellar GPA, you want to have definitely everything, but work experience says a lot.”

Linda Yang is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].