PCR Reflections

I participated in the marketing case competition in spring of ‘25. This was an extremely beneficial learning experience. I got to test my marketing skills, receive feedback, practice my public speaking skills, work under pressure, and collaborate with a team. This competition helped to push me to challenge what I knew and what I was capable of. I really liked that we could be as creative as we wanted with the competition and design a campaign to our own ideas. Since I was early on into the marketing major, I learned a lot about what was needed to conduct a successful campaign for a brand, as well as how to operate under intense pressure with time constraints. This is an experience I’ll apply to my future professional growth by using the problem-solving, teamwork, and presentation skills I developed to confidently approach real-world marketing challenges.

In the summer of ‘25, I did a 12 week, full time Sales development internship at Ecolab. This internship included a mix of virtual trainings, and in-person shadowing of sales reps. The internship concluded with a capstone project that I completed with my fellow interns. This helped develop my professionalism because it was the first true professional setting I’d worked in. It helped me learn how to conduct myself, what things I was looking for in a career, as well as what things I wasn’t looking for. It was nice to be able to shadow professionals everyday. I grew a lot in networking, and interpersonal skills. I had to force myself to put on a sales face everyday, and work hard to communicate. I plan to apply this to my future growth in terms of gaining a hard understanding of how to conduct myself in a professional setting, how to set boundaries, and what industry to look for.

I took MKTG 381, Fundamentals of Marketing Research in spring of ‘25. This class explored topics in designing a research study, collecting, analyzing and using marketing research data to make effective marketing decisions, and communicating the research findings and their implications. This class was a huge part in my professional development in terms of public speaking, handling verbal deliverables, and critical thinking. Backing up all of my statements with numbers was a tough hurdle at first. It helped to push me to grow as a research marketer and teammate. I’ll be able to apply this experience to my future professional growth by using the research and critical thinking skills I developed to analyze consumer insights and confidently communicate recommendations in professional settings.

I took MKTG 382, Consumer Behavior, in tandem with MKTG 381. This class dove into the psychology of consumers, perception, motivation, learning, attitude structure and change, social influences and cultural forces that shape them. I liked that we were able to do multiple case studies and look at current companies to analyze their consumers. It challenged me to think critically, engage in discussion, and question my own perceptions. It helped to take this at the same time as market research because I was able to connect the journey from first exposure at a product, to a loyal die-hard of a brand. This is a class I’ll be able to apply to my future professional growth because it strengthened my ability to understand how consumers think, what motivates their decisions, and how brands can build meaningful relationships with their audiences.

The entire time I’ve attended WWU, I’ve worked a part time job as a sales representative and tea barista at a small, local, woman-owned tea shop in Bellingham. This job has greatly aided in my prioritization of time management, as well as people skills. Going to school full time, then working on top of that, while maintaining a life outside of that, has been very stressful at times. There have been quarters where I’ve worked additional jobs on top of this one, testing my abilities to handle copious amounts of work under pressure, with very little time. I’ve found that the more work I pile on however, the more I tend to get done – I almost find a sweet spot of pushing myself to operate at a high efficiency, while blocking out each hour of my day in my planner to get it done. At the job itself, I’ve been able to work on my people and conversational skills, pushing me to work on my sales bone. The value of working hard at a job, while in school, has been a valuable lesson on work ethic for my future professional growth.

I attended the WWU Marketing Career Launch and Holiday Mixer last winter. This event is an annual opportunity to learn insights from marketing alumni, as well as work on networking in a laid-back, casual setting. This was a really fun event that I went to with a few classmates. I learned a bit more about the current marketing career landscape, as well as got to practice my networking skills. It helped me de-stress a bit in terms of feeling prepared for post-grad life, hearing about alumni’s experience. This was an interesting one as well, because I worked on the marketing communications for this event beforehand, so seeing it for myself was really beneficial. This is an event I'll be able to apply to my future professional growth by strengthening my networking abilities and gaining insight into how professionals build and navigate their careers in marketing.

In Spring of ‘25, I took Econ 361, International Economic Policy and Business. This class explored the rise of the modern world economy, and the increasingly contentious debates over international trade, security, investment, finance, technology and immigration. This was a particularly interesting quarter to take this class because it occurred while the Trump administration announced the steep tariffs imposed on trading partners. I liked that this class examined current issues, as well as instructed engaging activities. We had numerous class debates and papers that proposed policy changes to the U.S. government. This class aided my knowledge in policy, as well as globalization efforts prevalent to businesses in the U.S. I will apply this to my future professional growth by using a stronger understanding of how government policy and international economic relationships influence business decisions and global markets.

In the winter of 24’, I took MGMT 311, Introduction to Management and Organizational Behavior. This class focused on organization theory, behavior and interpersonal communication, concepts of power, authority and influence, etc. This was a discussion based class that analyzed various managerial scenarios, employee problems, and cultural differences in the workplace. This class helped develop my professionalism through providing me with a background of power dynamics in the workplace and how to navigate difficult scenarios that teams might present. I liked that we analyzed a lot of movies as a source of poor managerial roles, it kept things relevant and easy to digest. Through this management class, I was able to expand on my communication skills, both through peers, and mock scenarios where I was put in a managerial role.

I took ELED 310, Education, Culture, and Equity in fall of ‘24. This class was an excellent course that deeply explored issues of diversity and inclusion in a heavily discussion-based format. I gained a vast understanding of systemic issues in the school system and how to navigate equity as a peer, student, leader, and member of the community. I liked how much discussion was prevalent in this class and the encouragement to challenge ideas. This format helped to create an environment where questions were fostered and growth was spurred. This class is one that I’ll take with me on my journey of professional growth, aiming to model my business decisions with diversity and equity to always be taken into consideration.

In fall of ‘24, I watched WWU’s House of Healing Longhouse Lecture, where they spoke about how the longhouse is a cultural and community space created to support the Indigenous community. The speakers discussed the importance of recognizing Indigenous history and providing spaces for Native students. By attending this lecture, I gained a better understanding of how institutions can create spaces that support cultural identity and belonging. This activity helped develop my professionalism by improving my cultural awareness and ability to understand perspectives different from my own, as well as the importance of approaching conversations about diversity with empathy. I will apply what I learned in my professional career by being more mindful of inclusion when working with teams or developing plans to serve diverse audiences.

I attended the Paul Storer Memorial Lecture in Spring of '25 with a couple of my classmates from my ECON 361 class. This lecture/seminar was held at a local hotel, and talked about global trade in uncertain times, something very prevalent to the political climate at the time (and continues to be). This was something I attended to expand on my knowledge for my minor in economics and helped to develop my career readiness by providing me with an insight on global trade, something incredibly important for business. I liked that it was a professional atmosphere of all ages, and that the lecture was given by someone who I hadn’t seen before. This helped offer alternate perspectives from which I was familiar with and pushed me to critically think. I plan to apply this to my future professional growth by keeping this lecture and it’s lessons in the back of my head when I approach global business decisions. 

In spring of 2024, I attended WWU’s Slesnick Symposium, coordinated by SMATE. The particular panel that I listened in on focused on “Inclusive practices That Help Students Learn”. I listened, asked the panel a question, and took notes on inclusivity practices. This activity helped develop my professionalism because it gave me an opportunity to dive deeper into inclusive practices for a collaborative environment, while conducting myself in a Q&A panel section that gave light to issues of inclusive learning. I liked that the panel included both students, and teachers; the panel provided multiple viewpoints and experiences. I’ll be able to apply this to my future professional growth by taking into account inclusivity practices in every team I work with, making sure to lead with a compassionate, equitable mindset. 

In fall of ‘25, I took an international marketing management course that taught the importance of risks and rewards of globalization for marketing across country lines. This class helped develop my career readiness by providing theory, along with practice, where I put together numerous presentations that analyzed global business marketing strategies and critiqued areas for improvement. I liked that we were able to study real companies and put together recommendations for them. We were able to chat with employees of a couple of companies we were studying, gathering first-hand perspectives. I’ll be able to apply this experience to my future professional growth by maintaining a global perspective that takes into account varying cultural differences and preferences.