My favorite scene from The Office is in the series finale when Jim is reminiscing on everything that this job has given him. He’s a paper salesman. He went into the job thinking it would be boring. Go to work, go home and repeat the next day. But in the end, everything he has (wife, kids, friends, etc.) he owes to his job. And that is exactly how I feel about my time in the Western Marketing Association.
I transferred to WCSU my sophomore year and made little to no effort. I felt like I never left high school, coming to school just for classes and then leaving. I had no friends and completely isolated myself. Junior year I decided to get involved in WMA, mainly out of peer pressure. I signed myself up for a position on day one and never looked back.
Fast forward two years…
I never thought I would care this much about a club. The people in it are my best friends. I never would have met them if it weren’t for WMA. We literally send each other articles about fascinating marketing tactics we see in our daily lives (it’s so nerdy).The advisors are my greatest supporters, challengers, and go-to person for a recommendation.
I never thought I would accomplish so much through a club. In 2019 we were named “Second Top Small Chapter” and hoping to rise to “Top Small Chapter” this year. Last semester I worked with 10 other students to complete a case study for Cotton, Inc. We’re finalists – out of hundreds of schools. A never before seen in WCSU history, it’s really awesome. The website I designed received honorable mention – national recognition.
I never thought in a million years I would be sad to leave WCSU. I was not expecting to enjoy my time at WCSU. In fact, I told myself sophomore year I wasn’t going to attend graduation because I didn’t have any friends. But, here I am. Crying as I write this blog post.
As graduation quickly approaches, here are a few tips to make the most out of your WMA experience…
1. Step outside of your comfort zone. Ask people to grab dinner after the meeting, text people to stay in the loop, take an e-board position, whatever challenges you.
2. Network. Dozens of people have gone on to pursue internships and full time jobs because of the people they met in this club. Meet everyone, figure out what they do outside of school, ask them questions, anyone would love to talk to you!
3. Utilize advisors. I’ve never met people who care more about students then those two do. They adore helping students, talking about marketing, and sending you job descriptions. But, you need to seek them out. Go to their office hours, get to know them!
When Jim said, “everything I have I owe to this job”, I got that exact feeling reminiscing on my time here. To other people it may just seem like a regular club but this is so much more than a club. It’s family.
Natalie Carnazza, '20