It comes as no surprise to senior Brandon Hermoza-Ricci that his peers are extremely invested in sustainability, particularly in the wellbeing of the planet.
“We’ve seen what the world used to be, and what it is becoming, and we want to keep it the way it should be,” said Hermoza-Ricci. “That’s what inspires us.”Continue Reading
Women need to be cautious about accepting ‘femtech’ healthcare benefits through work, because it could result in personal reproductive information being shared with employers.
That’s the recommendation of Professor Elizabeth “Liz” Brown of Bentley University, who will discuss her award-winning research during an April 4 virtual lecture. The program is part of the UConn School of Business’ Equity Now lecture series.Continue Reading
UConn Today – The School of Business is hosting a Global Business Leadership in Sustainability Summit, featuring professionals and faculty discussing key initiatives that are shaping sustainability in business, both locally and around the world.
The Friday, March 25 summit will provide students the opportunity to speak with professionals who share their passion for “business for good,” and encourage students to explore the potential of incorporating sustainability within their careers.
The School of Business is offering two unique programs, both featuring successful women in business, as part of its celebration of International Women’s Day on Tuesday.
A panel of leaders from Amazon, including alumna Shirley Tarabochia ’17 MBA the General Manager at Amazon’s Windsor, Conn. facility, will address graduate students at the GBLC in Hartford.Continue Reading
Vishal Narayan has joined the School of Business as an associate professor in the marketing department. His research interests include social media, marketing in emerging markets, and digital marketing analytics.Continue Reading
Only a few days remain to register for the popular Negotiations Case Competition and management professor Nora Madjar expects this year’s event, like years past, will draw some of the brightest MBA and law students at UConn.Continue Reading
Alumni Spotlight: Karina Alfisher ’17 Senior Merchandising Manager at The Grommet
Karina Alfisher ’17 knows all about the importance of getting an early start acquiring work experience. As an undergraduate, she was committed to advancing her professional career as early as possible, starting her first internship at Reebok HQ her sophomore year. From there she was able to stick with the company for two more summer internships as well as receive a full-time job offer upon graduation.
From her time at Reebok to her current role as Senior Merchandising Manager at The Grommet, an online marketplace and discovery platform for consumer products, Karina has gotten a taste of working at both large and small companies. There are certainly advantages and disadvantages of both and the decision depends mainly on the type of environment and role you’re seeking. For Karina, her move to the Grommet had her looking for a role that would allow her to have her own part of a business and challenge her with goals she could control. In terms of some of the benefits she sees with a smaller company, she says your everyday contributions have a larger impact on the company’s success, and you can immediately see the results of your work. One of the advantages of a larger company, however, is having more strict processes and structure, which for some people can help with staying organized.
In Karina’s current position, each day can be different. Her team works with almost every team at The Grommet, allowing her to work on a variety of projects at once. At it’s core, her group is responsible for discovering unique consumer products from small businesses and partnering with them to onboard them to their site. Some of her typical tasks include online research, attending trade shows, and networking with industry leaders to identify the latest trends helping to deliver products that will be most impactful for consumers. One of her favorite things about her job is working with small businesses, she was even able to partner with an old friend during the pandemic helping her boost her candle-making company.
As for advice she has for current undergraduates looking for summer internships or full time roles, she emphasized the importance of starting internships or rotational programs as early as possible, as they can be helpful in figuring out what roles and industries you like. Additionally networking and building relationships with your professors can be beneficial, she says, “they are a really great resource having either worked in the industry you’re interested in or knowing others who have. You can learn a lot from them.”
Mackenzie Jacob is a senior Business Management major with minors in Digital Marketing & Analytics and Political Science. This past summer, Mackenzie interned with Allied Global Marketing, a full-service integrated marketing agency based in Washington D.C. As a Field Marketing Intern, she researched and executed promotional strategies for more than 25 feature films in the Washington D.C. area, with clients including big names like Universal, Hulu, Netflix, and Walt Disney Studios. In addition to this, Mackenzie worked with securing partnerships for promotional events and campaigns as well as assisting with the operations and promotion of film screenings.
This position solidified Mackenzie’s passion for entertainment marketing and showed her how fast the industry moves. “I looked at everyday like a new opportunity to prove myself to my team,” she says, “I made sure to create my own opportunities to support the team and stay involved, this strategy was key in making my internship as meaningful as possible.”
Although Allied Global Marketing is a massive company, with over 24 offices worldwide, each is run like a boutique agency, with 15 person teams including a director, junior and senior level publicists, and account coordinators. This allowed Mackenzie to be very involved in the day-to-day workload, making a meaningful impact within the company.
One piece of advice Mackenzie has for students looking to get into entertainment marketing is, “Don’t take no for an answer. The entertainment industry is notorious for rejection, especially during the COVID-19 shut down, so don’t be discouraged by rejection. Keep reaching out and networking no matter what.”