Snow, Speech Contest, & Weekend Relaxing

Happy Sunday!

I've had a crazy week (I meant to blog but I just didn't have time!) but I've had a fun, relaxing weekend and I'm ready to get a lot done this week. I have another busy week coming up (a project, test , group work, and case study analysis all due this week) but we have Friday off so I'm going home to see my parents for the weekend which will be awesome!


So about my week...

Nothing too exciting early in the week, I just a bunch of homework to do. I also worked on my speech all week for the speech contest on free enterprise and entrepreneurship on Friday. On Wednesday I essentially re-wrote the speech after realizing that the majority of it didn't make sense, then I practiced like crazy on Wednesday and Thursday night.

All week we heard about the massive snow storm that was coming our way and on Thursday night it started to snow...then didn't stop until Friday evening. It didn't snow TOO much but I was worried the speech contest might get cancelled!

Campus looks gorgeous with all the snow!

Finally on Friday I got ready for the speech contest, which started at 4:30. Two of the three judges ended up being unable to attend due to the snow, but several professors were there (including the business department chairperson, Professor Letovsky, and my advisor, Professor Popovich). I also had a couple friends come to cheer me on!

Now the good news...I won the speak off! After we gave our speeches the judge and professors discussed for a bit and then announced the winners. I was SO EXCITED because, not only did the winner get a cash prize, but also got the chance to attend the 'Free Enterprise Olympics,' a contest held at SUNY Plattsburgh in March between seven schools. Saint Mike's already has a team of seniors attending the contest, but now I get to join the team! The contest will happen on a Friday next month and the day will begin with the speak-off winners giving their speeches again in the final round of the speech contest. After that the teams will have the day to participate in a creativity contest. While the details of the contest are unknown, essentially we'll be solving some type of business problem. I'm beyond excited that I get to go to SUNY Plattsburgh for this contest; I can't wait!

Besides speak-off fun, I've had a pretty mellow weekend. I've mostly been getting some homework done, sleeping in, watching TV, and catching up on some other work, like applying for internships and working on my study abroad application. Like I said, we have a short week coming up, then I'll be going home for the long weekend to see my parents and chill at home.

In a few weeks I'll start giving more tours, which is so fun! I love giving tours, especially during spring semester. I love when students have gotten accepted to Saint Mike's and are getting excited about college. It's great because the long, hard application process is over and now students just get to pick which school they want to attend (which is hopefully SMC!).

Anyway, I am off to do some more homework! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! Email me or shoot me a tweet!

Vlog Update

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Hope you all had a great weekend!


I ran out of time this weekend to do a longer written post (and I may or may not be trying to be more like Lauren Kopchik) so here's a quick vlog update about the first couple weeks of the semester!

Always choosing the best frame to freeze on...

Hopefully I'll find time to blog later this week, but either way be sure to email me, send me a Facebook message, or tweet at me with questions!

Social Media, Pranks, HubSpot

Happy Monday everyone!

So my last post was about social media and, because I've been studying a bit about social media marketing in my marketing class (plus I'm just obsessed with social media) I'm sort of posting about it again!

Since I research everything to the enth degree, I've been looking into a bunch of social media & marketing companies, one of which is HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company in Cambridge, MA. I've known about HubSpot for a couple years now and it's actually my dream company. It seems like a super cool company full of smart, passionate, innovative people and I've wanted to intern there since I started college last year. Basically it sounds like they work really, really hard but also have a ton of fun (which is just my style!).

So, as I said, HubSpot sells software to companies that enables them to easily create a marketing campaign using various platforms, such as social media, SEO, emails, calls-to-action, and blogs. Again, all of these types of marketing are part of inbound marketing, which basically seeks to get the attention of customers and to be easily accessible. More traditional forms of advertising, such as direct mail and television ads, are considered outbound marketing.

On HubSpot's site today I found a web series where various HubSpot-ers and guests present on marketing issues and info live every Friday afternoon. The video I found was from September 2012 but the information in it is just cool.


The video talked about a lot of things, but what stood out to me was the bit about the Emmy's, which were hosted by Jimmy Kimmel that year. In the middle of the Emmy's, Jimmy Kimmel asked for a volunteer to come on stage. Tracy Morgan went up and Jimmy Kimmel asked him to lay down on stage and, essentially, play dead. Kimmel then asked everyone to tweet "OMG Tracy Morgan just passed out on stage at the Emmy's. Turn on ABC now." Tracy Morgan laid on staged for several minutes and was then carried off.

In part, Jimmy Kimmel pulled this prank in order to increase ABC's viewership. And it worked! Due to Kimmel's prank, ABC saw a 6% increase in viewers for the Emmy's, which is pretty substantial. I like this story because it shows how big of an impact social media can have, plus it demonstrates how easy it can be to create this impact. Granted, most of us won't be hosting the Emmy's and we don't have the number of followers that Jimmy Kimmel does, but by following influential people and continually tweeting (and updating other social media platforms) with new, funny, and compelling things, you can definitely have some kind of impact.

Check out the prank!

HubSpot's website is full of information about marketing and social media. They have tons of free ebooks, plus an awesome blog that's almost continually updated. It's really a great site for marketing advice, whether you're a company interetsed in their marketing software, or a college student like me who's interested in optimizing marketing techniques for your blog and online magazine.


One last thing! While perusing their website, I saw a video in which HubSpot's Director of Product Management, Christopher O'Donnell, said this - "We are in a position to build a once in a generation kind of company." First of all, this is a great mindset to have! HubSpot believes it is an innovative, new, creative company and focuses on portraying that image. Also, I totally think this quote is true. Never before has social media, blogging, and inbound marketing in general been so popular. This company is growing rapidly because they are smart and creative, but also because their timing is perfect!

As always, email me, send me a Facebook message, or tweet at me with questions!

The Obvious (& Obscure) Impacts of Social Media

As most of you know, I'm a business major with a concentration in marketing. I love all things marketing, which is part of the reason I'm a student blogger! I'm particularly a fan of social media marketing and the huge impact it can have.

Social media marketing is relatively new, but it has now become a huge component of marketing. Think about it...I created my Facebook profile 6 years ago, started my blog and Twitter account two years ago, and began Her Campus earlier this year. At the same time, major brands are expected to have Facebook and Twitter profiles, from colleges and clothing stores to musicians, celebrities, and politicians.

I'm sure you all realize how much time we spend on social media sites. Several classes at Saint Mike's urge students to give up technology for a day, or even a week (a couple of my friends have done this and have had a lot trouble avoiding social media sites). But have you considered the fact that social media now influences our country's Presidential races?

In the 2008 race between Obama and McCain, Obama won almost 70% of the votes by people under 25, a large part of which I think came from his presence on Facebook. In fact, during that election, Obama had almost 2 million Facebook followers, while McCain had a little over 600,000. The differences continued on Twitter, YouTube, and in Podcasts. US News has a great article on this from way back in 2008. Essentially, the way the politicians run for office has now changed forever, which is incredibly fascinating.

I just finished my first week of classes, one of which is marketing! I find marketing so exciting because it's all about working together - you get direction from directors & VPs, get your budget from finance, and work to support sales. It creates such an interesting dynamic because, not only do you get the space to be creative, but you also have to work as a team. It definitely sounds challenging but I love it! I'm excited to see what I learn this semester because marketing changes so quickly; it will be cool to see what the newer, younger, or more exciting avenues for advertising will be.

I promise a post soon about my spring semester classes. Email with any questions!

The Power of SMC Alumni

Hello! I know I haven't blogged in a while, but I've been busy relaxing! I've had a great break & I've loved seeing my family, hanging out with my friends, and sleeping in (all things I don't get to do much while at school).


This school break I've also been focusing a lot on securing a summer internship. I've mainly been researching interesting internship opportunities through SMC Joblink and other public job sites, but I've also been talking to various alumni about their experiences in the business world. Through the Career Services department SMC students can get a list of alumni in specific industries and locations who are willing to help current students. I got a list of alumni in business & marketing in the Boston area & the alumni I've talked to have been extremely helpful!


So far I've spoken with about 8 alumni and each of them have given me advice about how to market myself, what companies would be a great fit for me, and how to succeed in the business world. I've also gotten to hear about their jobs and career paths and how their education at Saint Michael's College has helped them. The most incredible part is that these alumni are so willing to help! Several alumni have promised to help me secure an internship at one of my dream companies and have told me to keep in touch about interning at their companies next summer. I've talked to alumni who have started their own companies, are CFOs, or have become Vice Presidents. It's inspiring to see that there are so many opportunities and that the Saint Michael's community extends beyond our small Vermont campus.



I return to school this Sunday and while I'm excited to see my friends and start new classes, I'm certainly going to miss being home. As always, shoot me an email if you have any questions - I'm happy to help!

Why Being a Business Major is Awesome

Happy Wednesday!


So while I just blogged the other day about how I'm insanely busy and have no time to blog, I wanted to tell you all a bit about my experience as a business administration major!

So as I've mentioned before, I've changed my major four times. (Yup. That's a lot, I know.) I actually came in as a business major, then switched twice more before becoming a business major again (I've come full circle!). Basically, while I haven't always been a business major, I am now totally, head over heels in love with the business department!



Why am I a Business Major?
I recently switched to a business major after starting a Saint Mike's chapter of a national online magazine with my friend Lauren. While the magazine isn't affiliated with Saint Michael's College, we have a small staff of students and write about events at SMC and in the surrounding area. After working on the magazine I realized just how much I loved the business aspect of it and switched majors right away! It's great because it keeps me excited about schoolwork and it motivates me to get internships.



I also have an amazing advisor!
I LOVE my business advisor! When I came for a pre-orientation weekend the before my freshman year I had Professor Popovich as my advisor for the day. She was very helpful and friendly; after starting at SMC, I heard that she was an amazing teacher. When I recently switched to a business major I requested Professor Popovich as my advisor. Thus far she's been tremendously helpful! She's also recommended me to be part of a quasi-debate team for a competition at SUNY Plattsburgh next semester which would include giving individual speeches and working as a team to solve business ethics problems. It sounds like a challenging experience which will be tons of fun.

My first business project - SMC Winter hats!

Here's what I've thought about my first few business classes:

-  Critical Thinking & Communication (Intro. Business Course)
This was a difficult but fun class! In the course we created out own business on campus which was terrifying but a wonderful hands-on experience. I loved that we got business experience right away! This class was also team-taught, meaning that we had three professors who were experts in marketing, management, and finance.

- Financial Accounting
This class was tough because it was at 8 am, but I was surprised to learn that I really love accounting! Professor Voigt is actually one of my favorite professors - he was straightforward, fun, and incredibly supportive.

- Managerial Accounting
Another surprisingly fun class! I actually took this class twice - last year I took the class but wasn't doing well  and had to withdraw. This year I took the class again with a different professor and ended up loving his teaching style. Professor Doyon made the material interesting and relevant and I found it incredibly easy to do well in his class (the work itself isn't easy, but as long as you pay attention in class and work hard on the homework, you'll be fine!).

Next semester I'm taking all business classes, which I'm excited for:
- Marketing
- Management
- Economics
- Statistics

Basically, I love being a business major! If you have any questions, feel free to email me!

Finals Finals Finals!

Happy Monday!

This week marks the last week of classes, which is both super exciting and incredibly stressful. I have a couple papers due and some end-of-semester assignments before finals next week. For finals, I'll be done by  Wednesday which means I'll have a busy but short week of finals before heading home next Thursday!

So basically, just a warning that I may not be especially blog-oriented these next two weeks while studying! Hope you all have a great end of the semester and feel free to email me with any questions!