Congrats MKTG 3250 Spring 2020 Finalists!

MKTG 3250 Marketing Strategy Consultancy is the required capstone class for all Marketing majors which challenges student teams to produce a marketing plan for a local company. Camp North End was selected as the company partner this semester and the course was taught by Professor Cindy Fox.  Students overcame additional challenges this semester (meeting and presenting online) as UNC Charlotte transitioned to operating remotely. Kudos to all students who were enrolled and completed the course this semester!

Three team finalists were chosen by Professor Fox and spent an hour with representatives from Camp North End presenting their final plans via Zoom. Camp North End Team members who evaluated teams included: Damon Hemmerdinger, Varian, Shrum, Sadatu Dennis, Zavia Rudisell, Kadeeja Janneh. This was a great opportunity for students to gain exposure to industry professionals and receive real world feedback on their work.

Congratulations to our three team finalists below!

Kameran, Lexi, Fernanda, Meredith, Marley, Lauren, Jenna

"This project has done an amazing job of synthesizing all the things I have learned during my undergraduate career into one project. I had an internship with a digital marketing consulting firm, Capacity Interactive, last summer and fall. This project allowed me to test my knowledge on a local client and tailor my recommendations to their needs. We all also drew on previous marketing classes, such as Sales, Innovation and Creativity, and our introductory marketing course." - Lauren Tooley

Hailee, Ashley, Eddy, Jesse, Hannah, Luigi, Moriah

Ashley Daniels notes, "My internship with the nonprofit organization UMAR really helped prepare me for this course. I was able to establish real-life experience in the marketing world and get valuable tips and tricks from my supervisors. Internships are a great way to get hands-on experience and learn more about what aspects of marketing really appeal to you and what your strengths and weaknesses are which are great to know going into this course." 

Her advice for students taking the course in the future: "Don't be afraid to think outside of the box for this course. Tapping into your inner creativity will really set you apart. Also, being willing to establish communication and set expectations for your group at the beginning of the course will really help out in the long run."

"I gained great memories from this experience. I had an amazing group, that pushed me to be the best version of myself. They supported me throughout this experience and I am forever grateful for them."  - Hannah Ginn

Abbi, Leah, Jean-Claude, Hannah, Mackenzie, Rachel, Kayla, Burke 

Mackenzie Meier offers advice for students taking the course in the future. Be sure to take note!

"Just because your team doesn’t make an A on every paper doesn’t mean you should feel discouraged or think your team has no chance to be in the finals. Our team papers ranged in grades throughout the semester but with our well thought out creative ideas we still managed to be in the final round.

Listen very closely to what a company is asking for and determine creative but realistic solutions on how to solve them.

As a team, I suggest meeting weekly to discuss the paper overall, make an outline of everything that needs to be completed, assign parts to each group member and set a deadline for everything to be done.

This is a semester long project; ideas are going to change throughout the papers which is ok and completely normal. Having discussions throughout the semester about ideas for the company is important because your thoughts at the beginning of the semester will differ from what you think at the end of the semester. Just remember you will have the chance to re-do your papers at the end of the semester, so its ok that your beginning papers don’t match your end result completely."

When asked what courses prepared you for this course, Hannah Stines said, "... Marketing Concepts and also Social Media Marketing. The social media played a huge part of our tactics so knowing how to post and what content to post based on the simulation we did in the class helped me provide guidance for the other team members when talking about our postings for the tactics."  Her advice to students would be, "that researching and being on top of the work is necessary. So much information goes into this project and knowing what the company is asking of you will make this experience easier to navigate. Do not assume that the company knows so much information that you might have found. Also be sure to connect everything back to each other. Good luck! It is a incredibly project to get you ready for the Marketing World!"

Congrats again to all students who completed the course! Thank you Professor Fox and Camp North End for a wonderful learning experience this semester. 

Sports Marketing Virtual Discussion and Career Opportunity

The University Career Center hosted a WebEx Career Meet Up last week for students interested in starting a career in Sports Marketing. The virtual discussion was presented by Scott McElfresh and Troy Shutler from ProPharma Sales, LLC.

In case you missed it, take a listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVMepwH5fXI
They specifically discussed opportunities at their company (currently a project from Head and Shoulders) which are available on Hire-A-Niner.

Feel free to contact the speakers should you have further questions.
Scott: smcelfresh@propharmasales.com
Troy: tshutler@propharmasales.com

Balancing a Part-time Job and Academics

By Chris Jorgensen-

Many students decide to take part-time jobs during a college semester. I was one of those students. Rather than looking for a job outside of the college, I looked within the college.

During the end of my sophomore year, I felt like I had figured a lot out. I had my major decided, I knew what clubs I wanted to be a part of, and I had a strong core group of friends. Getting a part-time job was always on the radar, but I never felt “ready” to take one on.

If there is anything to take away from this, it’s to get a job on campus. To be honest, I never thought of this as an option. I heard about employment opportunities on campus in the past, but I never took it seriously. After talking to my mentors and my parents, I decided to work on campus. I applied to a couple of positions, but I managed to land two, a peer tutor and a front desk job, for a combined 14 hours of part-time work. While this may not be as long as a traditional part-time job (20 hours), I think that 14 hours was a good balance for me.

There were some perks for working on campus. For one, I lived in an apartment complex that was less than a ten-minute walk from both jobs, so the stress of added travel was not there. Beyond this, both jobs understood that I was a student and were able to be flexible in their scheduling. I was able to work with both employers to find time frames that made the most sense with my schedule.

Due to this, I never really felt the stress of “having” to go to work. It just worked with my schedule. It’s funny because sometimes in college, you have moments where you look at your schedule and think it’s way overloaded. I remember the times where I was like “I cannot handle this”. Whenever I felt that way, I compared it to working a 40 hour week. Nine times out of ten, it isn’t as much.

However, I also understand that many other student’s situations don’t flow as well as mine did. For those who may have a job off campus and feel like they are finding it hard to handle both, my first thought is to find your sweet spot.

I realized from previous internships that my productivity levels went down after lunch. I don’t know if I was packing the wrong lunches or truly just wanted to go home by that point, but I knew that when I made my schedule for the semester, I wanted to put everything right beside each other. I didn’t want to give myself a break because I knew that I would a) not be 100% ready for class or b) not be a productive employee.

I also had friends who took jobs on weekends rather than during the week. They wished they had the time to enjoy their weekend or spend it on school. By the time Monday came back around, they were pooped.

To anyone who reads this and wants to learn or relate: you can totally manage a job on top of your studies. Everyone knows or will learn the right balance of how to spend their time. Do what you can to make your work schedule best fit your current curriculum. When in doubt, prioritize school. Also, look for work on campus. Some jobs only need you for a couple hours a week, and I am sure you can find an hour a day to help pay for college. I cannot recommend that enough.

Military Town to Queen City

By Cassie Chin-

When transferring from a community college to a university let alone UNC Charlotte, there are so many things that I would have liked to have known before becoming a Niner. I transferred from Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville, NC which is a small town that has the largest military base on the east coast to one of the fastest growing cities in the nation where I didn’t know anyone. I toured 5 other universities before choosing UNCC and I haven’t regretted it since. There are many things that I wish I would have known before adventuring to the queen city but here are the main ones that stood out the most.

1. Standards are as high as you want to make them
2. You are going to make mistakes and that is completely ok
3. Becoming a Niner will be one of the most memorable times in your life

Standards are as high as you want to make them. There are going to be so many people with different backgrounds that you have the opportunity to familiarize yourself with. Everyone will grow at their own pace but unfortunately it’s easy to compare your growth to others around you. I have faced this challenge immensely especially being a business major. What I do to avoid doing this is learn that soon enough, you will start to appreciate the diversity that the experiences and your classmates bring to your personal and professional growth. The students around you inspire you to be a better student, friend, and Niner.

You are going to make mistakes and that is COMPLETELY OK. Really, it is. I have made some mistakes in my short year and a half here but with my support system I never faced them alone. This included the life long friends I have made and the faculty and staff. The faculty and staff are here to help you in any way they can just like they helped me; from Career Services, Tutoring Center, Counseling Center, the list goes on. People aren’t lying when they say university is where you start to discover yourself.

Being a Niner will be one of the most memorable times in your life. A spontaneous car ride or light rail to the beautiful city with your friends, picking a random Tuesday to go to a cardio dance class, or even going to Noda to take pictures for instagram. With over 400 student organizations to choose from there will always be something made for you. There are hundreds of events that are hosted such as Homecoming, Professional Development Meetups, Career Fairs, and the International Festival. If I have not convinced you enough that UNC Charlotte is your university did I mention there's movies, UNCC gear, and group fitness classes, and they’re all free!! And that’s not even a sliver of the things that this university offers.  As a senior now, I wish I would have found this gem we call UNC Charlotte sooner but I have appreciated every person I have encountered and every experience that I’ve gone through, even the bad ones because once and Niner always a Niner, so throw your pickaxe up and come join the Niner Nation!

        

May 2020 Graduate Opportunity

The Belk College of Business invites May 2020 graduates, regardless of major, and recent alumni to join founder and CEO of Byrd Career Consulting and Belk College Outstanding Young Alumna Award recipeint Latesha Byrd '12 for a complimentary professional development workshop.  

Title: Landing Employment Post-Graduation During a Pandemic - tools, tricks and tips you can apply to your job search strategy
Date: Wednesday, April 29
Time: 12:00-1:00 p.m. 
Format: Zoom Meeting
Workshop Structure: 60 minutes - 45 minutes content & 15 minutes Q&A 

Workshop Description: Approaching graduation can seem tricky at this time, facing uncertainty around the job market and how to best prepare to land a career.  This workshop is for 2020 graduates, covering best practices and strategies for job searching as well as building a solid plan as you pivot your job search to the market.

Register Here Now!

Congratulations May 2020 Graduates from the Niblock Student Center

May 2020 Graduates, We are sad that we cannot celebrate you in person, but know that each of us in the Niblock Student Center is thinking of you and so excited for what is next in your journey!

Instagram Live!

Thank you so much to our students Taylor Cox, Danielle Riendeau, Arjun Nag, Nia Johnson for assisting with our Instagram Live event! Keep an eye our for more Instagram events. You can follow the Belk College here!