Marketing Connect Vol. 4

welcome

Introduction

We are excited to share with everyone an in-depth look into the journey post-graduation of one of our marketing alumni Emily Hendrickson, and a recap of the amazing program events that have been going on throughout May, all in the fourth volume of Marketing Connect!  WWU Marketing Connect is a student-run newsletter dedicated to serving marketing alumni, through alumni stories, up-to-date information on events going on, and a portal to all the other awesome content being created by the department. 

 

spotlight

Meet Emily Hendrickson

Emily is a marketing alumni from WWU who has made marketing management her career as a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft. She currently lives in the Greater Seattle area. She has also had experience as a Senior Partner Content Strategist, Discovery and StrengthsFinder coach working and managing teams. In this interview, we learn about Emily’s experience here at Western in the marketing department as well as experiences in her day-to-day job life as a marketing manager.  

What years did you attend Western Washington University?  

2005-2009

What impact did the Marketing Department at Western have on your career journey?

In one of my favorite WWU marketing classes, the professor - Safavi - told us there were two rules of marketing, the first rule is to be happy. The second rule of marketing is to never say no to a business offer, you should say "yes, if [+ what it would take for you to say yes to the offer]". I look to both rules in the jobs I select and have used this second rule a lot in contract & job negotiations! 

What is your favorite part(s) about your job?

It is a double-edged sword, but I really enjoy the fast-pace of Microsoft. It can be exhausting, but exciting to be on the cutting-edge of technology. I also enjoy the people! Because my role looks across the Azure business - I get to work with new people almost everyday.   

Were there any difficult obstacles that you had to overcome either during college or in your job experiences? 

I graduated in 2009, which was one of the worst job markets in history. I spent almost three years building experience and looking for jobs before I found something that leveraged my marketing skills and that I really enjoyed.  

Do you have any advice on navigating career paths for marketing students post-college?

If you don't meet all of the pre-requisites for a job (e.g. number of years worked, specific skills), don't let that dissuade you from applying! One of my favorite General Managers at Microsoft once told me that his ideal candidate met 50% of the outlined criteria and the other 50% was willingness to learn, take on a challenge, and approach the role with a growth mindset. Secondly, network, network, network. I recognize it can be challenging - and sometimes awkward - but would encourage you to find a way to network that is comfortable for you. Personally, I close every informational interview with "based on my interests, is there anybody else you would recommend I connect with?" - 9/10 times the person will provide a recommendation and you've done it, you've grown your network!

What advice would you have for other WWU marketing alumni as they reach a later stage in their career? 

There are three stages in a professional career: learn, earn and return. I highly recommend doing all three throughout your career. Never stop learning, never stop earning and never stop giving back. Send the elevator back down to the ground floor so others can rise up behind you. 

As an Insights Discovery and StrengthsFinder coach, was there a moment that especially touched you between you and a specific team member or consumer?  

Not a coaching specific moment, but in the same vein - last year a colleague and I created an internal Diversity & Inclusion Case Study Competition to showcase all the amazing work our regional marketers were doing to advance Diversity & Inclusion in their markets. This year I passed the torch on the event to somebody else on the team and always find it particularly touching to see powerful work that I have led on be leveraged by others to create a better Microsoft - and its broader communities.  

share

Share Your Story!

In a few sentences or a short paragraph, let us know how the Marketing program helped you in your career, and the journey you have had since graduation. Please include your name, current job or profession, and year of graduation in your email to kubickb@wwu.edu. If you add a photo, we can post it too! We'd love to hear from you!

event recap
back to parks

Back to Parks Hall Marketing Reunion

Back to B’Ham Alumni and Friends Weekend was a three day long event that took place on our very own Western Washington University campus. An event filled with live concerts and exciting sports like biking and kayaking, the marketing department held their own Back to Parks Hall to welcome esteemed alumni back to campus for a few hours. The day started off with some short networking time to chat and connect. Catering provided by Calypso Kitchen, one of IMC’s clients this quarter, started us off with a wonderful mixture of Caribbean delicacies as well as a small array of desserts and refreshers. 

The event was filled with Pecha Kucha style presentations where the presenter is allowed only a few seconds per slide to complete in 6 minute intervals. Those of us present got to hear from phenomenal guest speakers WWU Marketing alumni Kent Lewis and Jeff Shearer, and current marketing student Devon Nyberg. 

The introductory remarks and warm welcome by Ed Love set the tone for the evening. His words highlighted the significance of the event and the accomplishments of the marketing program as well as the impact that alumni’s support provides to current students in creating a strong community. 

Kent Lewis provided valuable insights during his presentation, encouraging the audience to discover their purpose, set goals and allow others to hear them, adopt a service mindset and create an exceptional customer experience, take prompt action as a marketer and be the first, and finally to be cautious during periods of success. 

Kent’s insightful presentation gave way to current student and aspiring marketer Devon Nyberg, who delivered an impressive presentation on his journey as a student in the Marketing program. He shared engaging personal anecdotes, valuable lessons, and showcased his growth throughout the years. His passionate delivery and well structured narrative provided a unique perspective on what it's like to be a current student in the marketing program. 

As our last guest for the afternoon, the audience was presented to WWU marketing alumni Jeff Shearer, who gave resonating career advice and inspired current students to reach their goals and explore their interests, his pecha kucha style presentation took the audience through a short journey of discovery and learning. 

Overall, Back 2 Parks Hall was a resounding success, combining informative presentations by alumni and current students, delicious food provided by Bellingham’s own Calypso Kitchen, and meaningful connections. A true illustration of the vibrant community within the WWU Marketing Program and the talented individuals it has nurtured over the years. To attend this event was to leave feeling inspired, energized, and motivated to become a part of a remarkable community. 

give day

Give Day

The 8th annual Giveday was one to remember! In the days leading up to Giveday as well as the day of, there were about 2,857 donors contributing to about $786,265 raised! We would like to thank WWU for putting on such an incredible event every year, that really supports students inside as well as outside of the classroom. We'd also like to thank you Ed Love and the Marketing Department for raising awareness of this event every year! Big congrats to the Marketing Department for remaining in the top 5 programs for raising funds for this event!

meet the team

Farewell Message

As we close in on the end of the spring quarter, we wanted to bid farewell to an incredible journey of developing an alumni-focused newsletter for the marketing program. We had an amazing time the last three months working from product ideation to building, distributing, and promoting four volumes of the newsletter. Throughout this journey, we got to speak and collaborate with many wonderful students, department faculty, and marketing alumni. We were thrilled to develop the inaugural release of the marketing newsletter and are excited to see what future teams will be able to do going forward with it.  

Meet The Team

The Marketing Connect newsletter is made by four marketing students in the Integrated Marketing Communication classes. Finn Barnes leads the team as a product manager, setting the strategic direction for the newsletter and overseeing the creation process while Cali Loeb, Helen Olivares, and Ben Kubicki are content creators developing and producing the newsletter's content.

 

Finn Barnes will continue being a part of Integrated Marketing Communications in the fall, advancing to an executive team member, overseeing all the content teams are creating across all platforms. Finn is an avid golfer and will be the president of Western's Club Golf team in the fall. Finn is graduating in December 2023 and plans to pursue a career in marketing. 

Helen Olivares enjoys reading and spending time with her pet chickens. She will be graduating Winter 2024 and plans on pursuing a career in international marketing. She is very excited to learn what the future holds post college and travel in her spare time.

Cali Loeb grew up here in Bellingham and has been snowboarding her whole life. In addition, she loves other recreational activities offered in Bellingham like mountain biking and skateboarding. She plans on graduating Spring 2024 and is excited to continue with her marketing career post college. 

Ben Kubicki enjoys playing on the WWU Men's Rugby team and spending time outdoors fishing and hunting. Ben is graduating this June and will be working his way up to be a project manager for a building company in Bellingham.

department news

Nathan Kessi Internship

Nathan Kessi, a marketing student at WWU landed a Performance Marketing Internship with REI recently for the Summer of 2023. Kessi has been a lifelong loyal customer and member of REI. He would like to say thank you to his friends, family, and community for their support in the process. Nathan can’t wait to contribute his work to REI and help the brand grow! If you want to know more about Nathan's new position, check out REI's internship page!

REI was established in 1938 and continues to operate as a business based on their mission statement to: "...inspire, educate and outfit for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship". Now who wouldn't want to work for a company that supports the outdoors with sustainable products? It is quite an exciting opportunity for Nathan and we hope he enjoys his time working with REI this summer!

Sweet as Waffles Project

Cat Armstrong’s Marketing 382 class also known as Consumer Behavior has been working with Sweet as Waffles all quarter to perform primary and secondary research on this newer business. Sweet as Waffles is a unique, delectable waffle shop located in Bellingham. The owners, Nate Brown and Graham Berkwitt were inspired to create the waffle shop after spending time traveling around the world. Sweet as Waffles has been operating out of a food truck since 2018. Just recently, they moved to a bigger space on Magnolia Street in Downtown Bellingham. Sweet as Waffles not only offers dining, but they do catering and tiny trailer concerts outside of the trailer as well. 

As a newer establishment, the students of the consumer behavior class decided to do an industry analysis as well as decision analysis through primary and secondary research. All quarter, they have been collecting data on fast, casual dining as well as late night dining. They will be presenting their findings and conclusions this week to Nate and Graham with recommendations and brand audits. We are excited to see the students present their findings to the Sweet as Waffles crew this week!

content

What's New In IMC

We are excited to announce through this newsletter that there will be another series presented by the Integrated Marketing Communications teams in the marketing program here at Western. 6 different teams made up of marketing students are actively building amazing content across a variety of platforms for the department. Similar to the newsletter, they release weekly series across different media. Check out their newest content of the week!

"Marketing by the Minute" Podcast

"Marketing Meal" TikTok series

"Explore the Electives" Webpage

"Linked Up" LinkedIn Blog Posts

"Marketing Connect" Newsletter

Why Explore these Resources?

These resources provide an excellent opportunity for alumni to not only hear about but also share their stories with fellow alumni in the community, as well as hear from current students. By getting involved, alumni are able to showcase their amazing career journey and receive recognition for all the work they have accomplished.