Today we speak to Bryan Emery, a junior Marketing and Management double major from Hamilton, NJ (Mercer County). Bryan is an Event Management and Marketing Intern with Rowan’s Rohrer Center for Professional Development. Read on as he tells us about his majors and what he’s learning from his internship experience.
Why did you decide to major in marketing and management?
I’ve always considered myself a leader, and I also like working with customers. Since I enjoy it so much, I figured that a field involving being able to lead a bunch of people and interact with customers is something that I would just resonate with. That’s what drew me in.
What is it about the field that interests you?
The products and their customer bases are just so diverse, especially with the cosmetic industry. Companies sell makeup to young kids, middle-age adults, and older generations as well. It circles back to the interaction with the customer that I like. When people are shopping for things, they are very complex. Analyzing them and building relationships is important to customer interactions. I feel this specific industry allows me to have a larger view of that interaction.
What have you learned in your majors so far?
The biggest thing that I’ve learned is embedded in almost all of my courses. Marketing and management are beyond the product itself. They’re more about the brand image. They’re more about the reputation of that brand. But they’re also about the simple interactions between the consumer and the product when it’s in their hand, and when it gets disposed of at home.
How do you use what you’ve learned in the classroom at your internship?
I think all the things that I’ve learned are a foundation for everything I’ve been doing. Specifically, within my role, I do a lot of event planning. I try to out what the benefit and the value of that event are and communicate that to all the students here.
What do you do at your internship at the Rohrer Center for Professional Development?
My position is the Event Management and Marketing Intern at the Rohrer Center for Professional Development. I assist my managers with all the events that we host, including the Etiquette Fair. Some tasks that I do are creating flyers and sending out mass emails. I also analyze attendance rates and compare those from the past years.
How did you hear about the internship?
Amie Ryno, the manager of the Rohrer Center for Professional Development, actually found me. At the first event I attended, we had a great conversation. As I used the resources the office provides, such as career coaching and mock interviews, we built a relationship. She came to me and asked if I was interested in the position, and I said I was.
How will this opportunity, and the other opportunities at the Rohrer College of Business, prepare you for your future?
Being a junior in this position is amazing. Right now, we’re all looking for internships and trying to figure out what we want to do in life. I have learned the importance of networking. No matter where you are, what you’re doing, you need a network behind you that supports you, but can also enhance your personal goals. I think time commitment and planning are also very important. Right now, I’m learning how to manage a bunch of different stuff right now. Learning these skills now from schools, from my clubs, from classes will help me in the future as well.
What other opportunities are there for Rohrer College of Business students?
Specifically, within my office, there’s one-on-one career coaching. There are also emails you get about employers, such as the hot job emails, which highlight internships and full-time positions. There are so many projects and clubs. If you have an idea of something you want to do, there are so many resources, whether it’s club-based, organization-based, or department-based.
What clubs are you a part of at the Rohrer College of Business?
I am in Rowan’s American Marketing Association, which is mainly marketing majors. We have two parts of the club. The first one is to introduce you to real marketers who are doing work and teach you some foundational skills. We also just launched a student-run marketing consulting service. Essentially, we help clients with customer retention or just brand recognition. We use all of our previous knowledge from class and incorporate that into a marketing plan for them.
The Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Business Club is all about seeing how your diverse backgrounds are an asset to the business world We have a bunch of guest speakers who usually come from diverse backgrounds talk about their experiences, the resources they use, and how you can use those resources in your daily search.
What’s some advice you would give to incoming freshmen who are looking to get more involved in their major?
My best advice to freshmen who are trying to get more involved in their major is to ask questions. Everybody is so afraid to ask those questions. I once was afraid to ask them, but doing so starts a conversation. I think that conversation needs to happen more in order to reach success.
Watch Bryan beyond the classroom here:
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Story by:
Rachel Rumsby, junior communication studies and public relations double major
Photos by:
Stephanie Batista, junior business management major
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