Fund The Future: A Video Series

JACOB (VO): Today we're taking a look at how Give Day donations have been able to prepare the new generation of marketers through the experiences and perspectives of two marketing students who have both been integral to the marketing program. We're going to start today with Mary.
Hi Mary.
MARY: Hey, nice to meet you.
JACOB: Nice to meet you as well. Would you like to introduce yourself?
MARY: Yeah, my name is Mary. I'm a senior in marketing and I'm also SMA's current president this year.
JACOB: Awesome. Could you walk us through how you learned about the Give Day scholarships?
MARY: Well, initially I had a professor, specifically economics, talk about it in class. They mentioned how easy it was to apply and so I did it in class with a friend. It only took about 5 minutes.
JACOB: Really? Did your friend apply as well?
MARY: Mhm. And they received one as well.
JACOB: That's awesome. How has receiving the scholarship from Give Day affected the opportunities that you've been able to take advantage of?
MARY: Yeah. So, I initially received a scholarship last year and I was able to take an internship at the Ferndale Food Bank, which is my hometown. And what was really wonderful about it is I got to fight hunger in my own community. And so, roughly seven out of 15 people in Ferndale attend the food bank. And so, it was super impactful to me because those are people that were my peers growing up and those are people that are currently living in my community.
JACOB: What did your experience at the food bank teach you about what kind of marketing work you want to do in the future?
MARY: Well, initially I got started with building essentially a whole social media plan. And while it's not something that initially I was passionate about, I really liked the number side of it. And so now I'm looking into more so market research, data analytics, that kind of a thing.
JACOB: We know give day supports in a lot of different ways, specifically with events such as career launch. and how has that helped your career readiness?
MARY: Yeah, I've attended the career launch all four years of university and I've loved it because I've gotten to kind of start building these connections with alumni and students where I always know that I can see them then the next year and the year after that. And what it's done is I've really been able to cement some solid friendships through the career launch. It's also really built my confidence in connecting with people. I used to have a little bit of social anxiety when meeting new people.
JACOB: How has this support allowed you to pay it forward already even as a student?
MARY: Yeah, I've been able to collect and amass a quite a large amount of experiences whether through internships and classes and getting to be SMA president. I end up fielding a lot of questions for my fellow peers and students who don't always feel comfortable either asking a professor or they're not sure who to talk to. And so it's been this really wonderful opportunity where I get to kind of help people out by answering what they answering their questions and finding out where they need to be. But also getting to kind of expand people's perspectives and filter in what I've learned throughout my time in college.
JACOB: What skills have has your time at SMA strengthened that you see helping you in your future?
MARY: Yeah. Uh recently this past year uh I got to speak at the career launch in front of a large crowd of people and it was the first time publicly speaking to that many and so constantly SMA kind of pushes me out of my comfort zone and always is pushing my boundaries and I find that that's my best way to personally grow and kind of learn and adapt.
JACOB: So you've appreciated those experiences from SMA that they've been able to give you.
MARY: Mhm. It's been largely impactful.
JACOB: Awesome. Can you tell us about an experience that the marketing program has given you that has helped you develop into the professional you are today?
MARY: Yeah. Uh both my sophomore and junior years I volunteered for the case comp. Uh mainly I helped with both the application process and checking people in day of for the ability to compete. And it was really fun because I got to develop some like strong administrative skills that I hadn't practiced in a while and it's finally built up my confidence enough that uh I actually get to compete this year instead of just volunteering. So I'm looking forward to that.
JACOB: That's awesome. And just to wrap it all up, what excites about your future professional endeavors in marketing?
MARY: Yeah, I'm particularly excited about kind of pursuing this career in market research analytics and personally I'm rather invested in kind of bringing in and uplifting underrepresented voices. And so I hope that through proper research methods and that kind of a thing I can push for good within my own communities.
JACOB: That's awesome. Well, thank you, Mary, so much for your time and sharing your experiences with us.
MARY: Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
ARI: And now we're joined by Peyton. If you'd like to introduce yourself and what your major was.
PEYTON: Hi, I'm Peyton. I'm a recent Western graduate and I graduated with marketing.
ARI: Sweet. And do you also want to talk a little bit about what you do now postgrad?
PEYTON: Oh, yeah. So, I work for a seafood company and I am a content and brand coordinator. So, I deal with all their social medias and whatnot.
ARI: Are you liking your new job?
PEYTON: I love it. It's so nice. It's exactly what we did in IMC. So, I really enjoy it a lot.
ARI: Looking at your entire marketing journey at Western, what would you say was the greatest turning point for you?
PEYTON: I would say that the greatest turning point for me personally was when I was SMA president last year. I wasn't originally supposed to do that. My friend kind of talked me into it and said, "Oh, you should go try out for this." And I was super nervous and I really didn't think I stood a chance, but I did it. And it taught me a lot about community, like getting more engaged with marketing. So, it just really taught me how to be professional and take my classes and overall everything more seriously.
ARI: What would you say was your favorite SMA experience or trip? Anything that you did that stood out?
PEYTON: My favorite was the Mariners trip and I think you went on that too.
ARI: Oh, yeah.
PEYTON: Uh it was super fun. I got to go on We got to go on the field which was really exciting. Uh got to go in the locker room. I've already seen the Hall of Fame, but just go into some secret areas that never been experienced. Go to a panel, talk with people who are in the sports industry, and it really opened up and made waves for the students at Western. So, it was really nice.
ARI: Going back to the community thing, how would you say did you notice that younger students, did you notice a change in their work ethic or anything after joining SMA? Like did anything improve for them confidence-wise?
PEYTON: For sure. I definitely noticed a lot of people got more comfortable with presenting. Something in SMA that I did was I presented every single meeting and I was super nervous about doing that. So it really helped me develop more like presenting skills I guess. And with overall everyone in the marketing association I feel that just in the later years everyone took it way more seriously. With the case competition too, everyone just for that week was super serious and it was great to see.
ARI: You said from your whole marketing career at Western, SMA is what helped you most to prepare for your current job. What are some key skills that you'd say SMA and just IMC and marketing in general helped you out with?
PEYTON: Mhm. I would say I was a really bad presenter. So, all throughout even my time at Western before I got later into the classes, I hated presenting. I'd get so nervous. I'd stress myself out. But after doing so many presentations not only for SMA but in my classes as well that really helped me gain confidence with presenting. So, at my job currently, I do a presentation every week. So, I talk to my team and people who have been at the company for years. So, I'm in front of these people who know what they're talking about and I'm trying to make sense of like here's my job. Here's what I do. Here's what I'm seeing with the social media, social listening, brand questions. What can I tell them so then we can maybe make our marketing a little more clear. So, I would say I'm way more confident in like presenting what I know.
ARI: So, I know you didn't participate in the case competition but I do know you volunteered in it and you said you watched some of your friends compete. How would you say the case competition improved their skills as marketers and confidence
PEYTON: I knew pretty much all of my friends did this case competition. I had a lot of stuff going on at the time so I couldn't participate. However, I got to see again a lot of my friends do it. So I know a lot of them were also really nervous about presenting. They were super involved with the IMC classes and specifically Dan’s classes in general. So, I had known them to be really hard workers, but I've never seen them present, especially to a board where in the final to a room packed full of people, probably the most people that they have ever presented in front of. Just their confidence in the way that they're presenting just shine through was something I had never seen before in just a regular classroom setting. So, I think that the way their personalities and the way they worked together with their team in such a short time period was so great to see and just brought to fruition. It was just so great. I loved it.
ARI: Moving past SMA, what would you say from the marketing program, from classes that you have taken, what was the most influential part for you professor-wise, class-wise? 
PEYTON: I guess something I'd want to talk about is how much Dan's classes really shaped me as a marketer. When I was taking 381 and 382, that was after like the foundations of marketing. Kind of like a very easy intro class to marketing, but it didn't really test my limits. But taking a Dan class, it was super I've never been more stressed than taking one of his classes. But it was it was good stress. I got to learn about how to work under pressure and work with a team and work with teams who we didn't really get along or we just didn't mesh well. So, it really showed me how to just take a step back and learn myself and do my work and also presenting too. Just so nervous presenting for a lot of things. And then moving up learning responsibility and how much my learning how much my accomplishments can get me forward. So, like I started as where you guys were as content creator and then I moved up to be a PM. And then I was on the executive team as director of operations. So, moving through those quarters and those different positions taught me so many different experiences and I can't imagine not being able to be a part of it like I really appreciate Dan for everything he's done and how real he is with you. I needed that in a professor.
ARI: All right. Well, I just want to thank you for your time. I know you're busy with your big girl job now. You're starting your marketing career which is so exciting and we're very excited to see where you go.
PEYTON: Thank you so much for having me.

JACOB (VO): Behind every successful marketing graduate is a team of faculty and staff committed to creating meaningful opportunities for students. Through Give Day, alumni support directly strengthens scholarships, enhances career preparation programs, and expands experiential learning within Western's marketing department. Today, we'll hear some personal insights and anecdotes from Ed Love on how he's seen Give Day support marketing students.
Jacob: I want to thank you for taking time with us to talk about Give Day a little bit.
ED: Great.

JACOB: Would you like to introduce yourself and your role here at Western?
ED: Yeah, I am Ed Love and I am a professor of marketing. I'm also the department chair and I've been here for about 18 years.
JACOB: That's awesome. Have you enjoyed your time here?
ED: Yeah, very much.
JACOB: And for those who don't know, could you describe Give Day a little bit?
ED: Yeah, Give Day is our one day a year where we reach out to our alumni and celebrate their relationship with the program and give them an opportunity to make contributions that make a difference for our students.
JACOB: Yeah, that's something we're really highlighting in the series here talking about how it affects students and we previously we talked with both Mary and Peyton about how it's impacted them. That it's really important to us. And so how would you describe the value of supporting Give Day in one sentence?
ED: Give Day gives us the resources that we need to do all the things that make the marketing program so special. It's what allows us to support our students with scholarships. It allows us to provide emergency relief funds. And most importantly, it's what we use to support all of the special events that we do to get our students ready for their future in the field of marketing.
JACOB: And so yeah, kind of talking about those events like how have you seen these donations change amount of opportunities students have had?
ED: Yeah, so thanks to these events, you know, we've been able to place our students at some of the best marketing agencies in Seattle. You know, major corporations, small businesses, all over the West Coast, you know, especially in the Seattle area. But you know we've got folks in New York, we've got folks in Chicago. What Give Day has allowed us to do is to maintain those connections with alumni that give our students access to those special opportunities. So it's not just because of the money that we get on that day, although the money is instrumental for the events, but it also helps us to reinforce the connections that we have with our super engaged alumni base. I don't think there is a program out there that has a better group of alumni than we do.
JACOB: For alumni who haven't been able to get engaged, how would you say that they should start?
ED: Well, you know, even a small gift on Give Day makes a big difference. You know, even 10 bucks can make a difference. Because it does two things. One, it helps us to meet some of the challenge goals, which gives us some bonus money. So, there's a big multiplier on that small gift. And two, it provides a signal to us that you are someone who still cares about the program and can be a great resource for our students. So, you know, a lot of times when I'm trying to find guest speakers or someone to reach out to on behalf of a particular student or, you know, have some opportunity I'll look over u the alumni who are still really engaged with us and one easy way to find that is through Give Day.
JACOB: Yeah. I remember a while ago connecting with Bob Neki to talk and that's really, really, important conversation.
ED: Yeah. Yeah. Bob has been a great friend of the program and he's not only is he always there for us on give day but he is a great example of someone who actually champions the program on Give Day. So he's reaching out to others. He's making sure that you know since he's at Microsoft he's getting a Microsoft match for all the money that he gives and so you know folks who can do that with their companies as well that that that's super helpful. But just being there for us on Give Day, showing up means the world to us.
JACOB: And bringing back to the department how have you seen donations impact department in other ways?

ED: You know, I have seen it provide so many scholarships, tens of thousands of dollars of scholarships, to students who really need it and really benefit from it. You know, first generation students, students who come from non-traditional backgrounds, students who are struggling a little bit. And then thanks to that money, they have been able to make the most of their education here. They've been able to continue and you know many of them have gone on to do terrific stuff with their careers. So you know that's just a very simple direct impact that we've seen. You know I've seen students who've been able to use the student emergency relief funds to provide you know emergent help when they really need it. You know I think the obviously the biggest thing has always been the events that we do you know the career launch, the mixer, the you know Give Day or, I'm sorry, the case competition which happens to be tomorrow. You know the mariners visit that we did last year and I hope we're going to do again this year. Those kinds of things rely on the support of give day to make them successful
JACOB: And how have these scholarships affected their academic careers?
ED: Well you know, I think that that probably the biggest thing is it's provide them with some certainty, some reassurance that you know, the funds aren't going to run dry for them, that they're going to be able to continue you know, that uh that, that funding their education is not going to result in them losing their apartment or something like that. So being able to finish more quickly and being able to finish in a way that allows them to live a normal life.
JACOB: What do alumni donors mean to you as professor?
ED: You know when I see an alumni, when I see an alumni's name show up, that always clicks a memory for me of them as a student, someone I've built a relationship with. And, you know, I've I feel personally invested in all of the students that I've had. I've always felt that the relationship that we develop with them as students continues after they graduate and throughout their careers. And so when I see their name there that is a signal to me that their time at Western was valuable to them, their time the program was valuable, and that they care about what we're trying to do here. You know, I think we have a very special mission and that mission resonates with so many of our students and our alumni. Uh it's really what makes this program the best marketing program in the Northwest.
JACOB: And finally, how does it feel to see students succeed from getting donations?
ED: That's everything. I mean, you know, that's why we're here. The most important thing that we do is support our students and help them to be successful. And you know some of that is having successful careers, good starts to their careers and career growth, and some of it is just having fulfilling lives. So, that means as much to me just knowing that an alumni, an alum is out there living a life that is meaningful to them and that we have been able to contribute to that is fantastic. Seeing the path from, you know, this young person who is maybe 20, maybe they're 30 when there's they start the program, but you know, someone who is full of questions and full of uncertainty and see them progress through the program. Build relationships with the other students in the program, feel part of our community, and build relationships with us, the faculty. That they know that they can always rely on. I you know that that means everything. It's just wonderful to see. It's the most fulfilling part of my job.
JACOB: Yeah. I mean, I think I can speak for a lot of Western students saying that, you know, going into our future careers, it's going to mean a lot to us to this time here and trying to pull ourselves into our futures. So, I want to thank you a lot for the time.
ED: Sure.
JACOB: To sit down with us, talk about Give Day a little bit.
ED: Yeah. I'm so grateful that you are giving me a chance to talk about it.
JACOB Of course. I think we learned a lot here. Especially like the more personal anecdotes and it's easy to think about as a broad thing, but really getting down to how it really affects people is really important. So, thank you.
ED: You bet.
JACOB (VO): Thank you to the Western Marketing Alumni community for continuing to invest in the next generation. Your support makes a measurable difference.
 

Jacob (V0): Behind every successful marketing graduate is a team of faculty and staff committed to creating meaningful opportunities for students. Through Give Day, alumni support directly strengthens scholarships, enhances career preparation programs, and expands experiential learning within Western's marketing department. Today, we'll hear some personal insights and anecdotes from Mark Staton on how he's seen support help marketing students.
Jacob: Thank you for sitting down with us.
Mark: Hey, my pleasure. Anytime.
Jacob: Appreciate it. Um, would you introduce yourself and describe your role here at Western?
Mark: Sure. So, my name is Mark Staton. I'm an associate professor of marketing at Western Washington University, and I've been a proud member of the faculty here since 2012.
Jacob: We appreciate it. And from your perspective, how would you describe Give Day?
Mark: Give Day is great. Universities are always looking for money, and I've always been interested in how higher ed does the marketing and stuff like that. Having been a professor at a lot of different schools, what I really like about Give Day is that it's the one day we ask people to give. At a lot of my other institutions, they're hitting me up for money all the time. So, to have this one day where we all come together to support Western is a really effective way to maximize conversions, but also not annoy people.
Jacob: Right, exactly. And if you were to describe the value of Give Day in one sentence, what would you say?
Mark: Community. Well, that's one word. You said it works, too. But, I would say raising up our community is the goal of Give Day. I love the community of the marketing department. I refer to my class as the Digi Mark community, you know, the trust tree, of course. But I think that's what Give Day does. It makes people reconnect with faculty and their classmates, and then make connections with the current students in a really special way.
Jacob: Yeah, I definitely see that. I think about how it's able to really connect us with alumni, and having those connections is so important. Having that insight into what the professional world is like, and having that continued support and community from alumni, is super important.
Mark: Yeah, no doubt.

Jacob: What would you say opportunities exist now that wouldn't before because of Give Day?
Mark: The big thing I would say is that Give Day allows the marketing department to have some discretionary funds that go right back to supporting the students. The biggest thing is a lot of the career readiness, the career advising, and career opportunities we're able to provide because of Give Day. A lot of our alumni in Seattle are familiar with our holiday mixer that Ed and Molly do a great job organizing. The students that come down for that come on a real nice bus that is paid for by Give Day. There have been other trips we've done in Seattle, meeting alums for networking. Those opportunities... if we went to the university and asked for them, maybe they'd give it to us, maybe they wouldn't, maybe it would take a long time to get the money. But the fact that we have these discretionary funds from our alumni really allows us to be that much more nimble. I think that's a great way we can support our students.
Jacob: Absolutely. And speaking about career preparedness, how would you say Give Day improves these experiences for students?
Mark: Well, one of the things I always get a kick out of is that we're marketers, we're training marketers, and we get to market Give Day. So just doing this video, that's good experience for you and your team. I think that understanding what the appropriate conversions are... I talk in digital marketing about how, for a nonprofit, digital marketing is kind of hard because there are all these different examples of conversions, right? There are all these different audiences. So, just seeing the process of how you raise money, I think is a really valuable skill. One of the things I always like to say is that I don't think all of our marketers necessarily need to or should go into the for-profit sector. So, seeing the nonprofit marketing aspect—we actually have a nonprofit marketing class taught in the spring—but seeing how this works, I think this sort of opens up opportunities for students to just think in terms of other career opportunities, just from watching us do this process.
Jacob: Can you think of any examples of how you've seen students succeed academically because of Give Day?
Mark: Well, I think one of the things that's really important is that we give scholarships, and these are usually need-based scholarships. So there absolutely are students I know that would not be able to continue their education if it wasn't for the support they were getting from Give Day. A lot of the extracurriculars, you know, we've got the case competition, and we have the wonderful support from New Engen for that. But I know there are some Give Day dollars being used for that as well. We want our students to learn in all the different aspects beyond the classroom, and donations to Give Day help with that.
Jacob: Absolutely. And let's say there's some alumni who've already donated, but they want to get involved with Western in a different way. How would you recommend they do that?
Mark: I think the biggest thing is just to reach out to the faculty that they know, and we'll always be looking to incorporate them. You talk about Digi Mark. I'm sure people watching the video who took Digi Mark, the speakers we have are almost all alums, and they're giving of their time. I think that Give Day, there's more than one way to give. Reaching out and offering your expertise or your connections, that's something we're happy to help with. Just reaching out to the faculty that you're connected to, or if you're not connected to anyone, reach out to me: mark.staton@wwu.edu. We'd definitely like to connect with you.
Jacob: Yeah, I can speak from experience being in Digi Mark last quarter and having those people come in. It was really interesting to be able to ask questions directly about how marketing works nowadays, and how career paths change.

Mark: Yeah, we had a great speaker just now, Will Hancock, who spoke to your class about paid social. He lives in New York, and so not only was he talking about paid social, but he was also talking about how many opportunities there are in New York City. I think that's another great way he's giving back.
Jacob: Absolutely. And what do alumni donors mean to you personally?
Mark: You know, I'm all about paying it forward. Becoming a professor, I've been in school a lot. The number of people that have helped me get to this point who I have no idea who they are is probably a pretty massive number. I think everyone recognizes that their college experience was benefited from the gifts of people they have no idea who they are. I like to think that people are proud to be marketing alums of Western. I get that sense. So, to show that pride, or to pay back that experience by paying it forward and supporting our students today, I think is a really special thing to do.
Jacob: Absolutely. I got that sense from all the marketing alums I've interacted with. It really does feel that way.
Mark: Yeah.
Jacob: And to close it out, how does it feel to see students succeed as a result of Give Day?
Mark: I mean, it's why I do this job. It's the best part of this job, watching students succeed. I've had so many students over the years talk about the opportunities that Digi Mark has provided for them. And the support we get from Give Day... one of the things that's super nice about it is there's no real strings attached. So we can really try different things. I was literally just thinking right now that there are certification courses that cost money and that could be valuable for students, but I don't want to make them pay a hundred bucks for a certification course. It'd be nice if... if you're a Digi Mark alum and you want to create a little fund for students to do paid certifications, I'm sure we could figure out a way to make that work.
Jacob: Yeah, absolutely.
Mark: And so, fact of the matter is, I give on Give Day. I'm proud to do it. I hope these videos and all the content y'all are creating are going to make more people do that as well.
Jacob: Yeah, of course. Well, thanks so much for your time.
Mark: Good to see you.
Jacob: Good to see you as well.
Mark: All right, take care.