February 2021

Being a Student During a Pandemic 

How COVID-19 is Harming Us as Students

First, we need to discuss how the pandemic has affected us as students. This article called “COVID-19 has Hurt College Students” discusses both socioeconomic and academic harms to students. It demonstrates that many students are not optimistic about their futures, as GPA’s have declined for some and job and internships opportunities have been lost for others. Over half the students surveyed for this article are expecting to delay their graduation date.

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The Value of Attending WWU Marketing Events

How do these events help?

First of all, it’s a great way to learn about yourself, meet new people, and further your education of various marketing skills.

Secondly, if you’re looking to get a competitive edge in your career, the simple act of just showing up will get your face in front of industry professionals.

So, what kind of events are available for Western marketing students this year?

  • Meet the Professionals Networking Event
  • The Annual SMA Marketing Case Competition

Both events can really give students that early experience they need to start their journeys as marketers.

But let’s be real.

These can be incredibly daunting experiences for students who have just gotten into the major and have very little marketing knowledge to share. Well, take it from someone who attended the case competition earlier this year. It’s 100% worth it!

Global Pandemic: A Unique Opportunity to Thrive

Creativity Has Increased

It turns out that by combining constraints and boredom, an influx of creativity can emerge. Although it seems counterintuitive constraints can help one be more creative, and there is research to back it. The human brain wants to be lazy and is always looking for shortcuts, but when you force constraints onto it such as time, price, or process, that's when innovation happens. Instead of following the path-of-least-resistance, there is now "a creative challenge that motivates people to search for and connect information from different sources to generate novel ideas for new products, services, or business processes". Oguz A. Acar, Harvard Business Review.