Kathleen Walsh ‘21 is a senior marketing student majoring in Marketing with a concentration in Digital Marketing and Analytics and a minor in Management. This past summer, Kathleen interned at Cigna through the Marketing Leadership Development Program (MLDP) on the Competitive Intelligence team. Kathleen will be returning to Cigna full-time this summer as a MLDP Lead Analyst. In this role, Kathleen will complete her rotations on three additional teams before determining her final placement within one of Cigna’s marketing teams. Kathleen shares her excitement to be able to work in a career related to healthcare and support Cigna’s healthcare insurance products, something that benefits every customer they serve.

Cigna’s rotational program allows undergraduate and MBA students to explore various roles within marketing before committing to one specific role and team. This allows participants to gain a greater understanding of multiple distinct marketing opportunities. Kathleen shares that she found the rotations to be attractive and helpful as she continues to learn more and gain a better understanding of where within marketing are her career interests the strongest.

For summer internships at Cigna, the steering committee makes placements dependent upon an intern’s experience and business need. If students return for additional rotations in the full-time role, they receive greater opportunity to choose rotations that align with their aspirations. By the time of the third rotation, members can work in different Cigna office locations and decide which area of marketing they would like to work in. For those interested in a full-time career at Cigna, Kathleen advises to treat your first internship like an interview; “your summer internship is a ten-week interview. During the time you can show of your skills, while meeting with the steering committee to prove you would be a great asset to the program long term.”

Kathleen reflects on her excellent experience at Cigna. She shares that her work was meaningful, and the company creates a strong sense of community within the MLDP. Kathleen shares, “Through mentorship, volunteering, and other group activities, I found a great group of people at Cigna that I look forward to working with again … It is a testament to the company and everyone working there, that even virtually I was able to see a culture of helpfulness filled with individuals who really want young professionals to succeed.”

On campus, Kathleen is an Undergraduate Peer Advisor in the Advising Office. This position allowed Kathleen to improve her problem solving and interpersonal skills. Kathleen also serves as the Vice President of the Women’s Club Volleyball team, which has developed her leadership and communication experience. The summer of her junior year, Kathleen worked part-time at a behavioral healthcare company called Mental Health Strategies & Solutions that specializes in mental health. This prepared Kathleen for interviews at Cigna because it gave her experience in the healthcare industry.

Emily Vasington ‘16 came to UConn confident that she had a passion for marketing. During her undergraduate career, Emily joined the professional marketing and sales fraternity Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE). Through her membership in PSE, Emily gained appreciation for the variety of areas within marketing and specifically enjoyed gaining exposure to consumer marketing and brand management. Emily later served as the president of PSE, which she shares allowed her a unique opportunity to interact and share her passion for marketing with other students while learning how to manage, recruit, and oversee an organization.

Emily accepted a Brand Management internship at Whirlpool during her junior year. After a successful summer interning in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Emily accepted a full-time offer to return to Whirlpool as an Assistant Brand Manager on the Maytag brand. In this role, Emily assisted in the successful launch of new products by establishing a positive brand image with consumers. While working on the launch of new products, it is imperative that brand managers successfully demonstrate the differentiation and value of a product over competitor offerings. A successful launch will help determine the future of the product and increase brand equity.

After two years on the Maytag brand, Emily challenged herself by accepting a new role within Whirlpool on the ‘Internet of Things’ team. Emily worked as an Associate Digital Product Manager on this team for an additional two years. Emily shares that this is her favorite experience thus far because it exposed her to new areas of the business and pushed herself outside of her comfort zone! In this role, Emily served as a liaison between business teams like sales and marketing and the developmental side of the business, such as hardware/software developers. One project Emily worked on during her time on the team was a re-launching of the KitchenAid app. This project was focused on rehauling the app to update the design, look and feel to better fit the brand image. Emily shares that was especially exciting being able to work on brand management products for Whirlpool because Whirlpool is a 100+ year old company. Modernizing the brand to compete with younger competitor companies was a special task for Emily.

To continue advancing her career, Emily has chosen to go back to school and is currently and MBA Candidate at Harvard Business School. Emily explains that she chose to go to Harvard because of their unique approach to the MBA Program. Harvard creates a general management experience rather than focusing on one area of business. This means that Emily is taking classes with all other MBA students, and can draw on the experience of students who have worked in diverse business roles in numerous industries. While specific marketing skills can be learned on the job, understanding how parts of the business work together and how to be a strong leader and imperative skills for any successful employee.

Emily’s vast career experience has revealed to her the importance of trying new things and challenging yourself outside of your comfort zone. Emily advises all aspiring marketers, “Every career move is a bit like building your toolkit … Even if it seems risky, it’s worth it…. When you push, you grow.”