Hi everyone, I’m Jennifer Acevedo, a senior majoring in marketing and I am ready to give you a look at a day in my life as a student marketing ambassador for the Department of Marketing here at DePaul. I joined the ambassador team my junior year and it has been an amazing and rewarding experience. The Department of Marketing is found at the Driehaus College of Business, and the department serves as a resource for students that are majoring in marketing. There are a total of six student marketing ambassadors, and we all have different positions and duties. I am in charge of the events that the department hosts, which can range from networking events, skill building workshops, and fun social events for students and marketing professors.

My day-to-day is a little different from someone in a typical internship with set hours. Part of the reason that I love this position with the department is due to the flexibility that we are given to work on projects on our own time the majority of the time.  However, we do have a weekly one-hour meeting with the rest of the ambassador team and with our supervisor Jessica Sanborn. We also have deadlines to meet, therefore being in this position teaches you time management skills. Typically, the time commitment to the ambassador team is anywhere between 5 to 10 hours a week. This time commitment fluctuates depending on how many upcoming events I have to prepare materials for and attend, and what week in the quarter we are at. For example, during the beginning of the quarter I am very busy helping my supervisor come up with last minute details for events that are scheduled and designing flyers on Canva for all the upcoming events which will be posted on social media channels.

For the fall quarter, our weekly meetings take place every Wednesday at 5pm. We have the option of joining in-person or through Zoom. However, for the most part all of the ambassadors attend the meetings in-person, myself included. During the meeting we run down our agenda which is neatly organized into the different ambassador positions to make sure we all get a chance to share our weekly progress and provide any updates to Jessica on the projects we were working on for that week. I enjoy our weekly meetings because they are a time for creative ideas to flow and if we are ever stuck on something, we can count on our team members to give us feedback and offer suggestions.

After our weekly meetings we have a good understanding of what tasks and projects we will be working on for the week. Typically, the day following our meeting, Jessica will send us a follow up email regarding our tasks for the week in more detail. I like to start on my tasks right away on Thursdays and if possible complete them by Friday. That way I can send my supervisor an email with either a draft of the event flyers I was assigned, or with an update on where I am on my project for the week. Communication is very important in this role, and it is something I have gotten much better at. I try to communicate with my supervisor as much as possible, ask questions when I need to, and communicate with my team members, especially if I am collaborating on a project with them. Sometimes, I will be assigned tasks with a quick turnaround, therefore I like to get started on my tasks early to leave time in case any last minute project comes up.

Although I do spend a lot of time on Canva designing flyers (which by the way my teammates and supervisor say I am really good at!) I also get the opportunity to work on projects that extend past my job description. For example, I have been working on my writing and storytelling skills by writing blogs on the LinkedIn of the Department of Marketing. These blogs are recaps of events that have already occurred. These recaps summarize either topics, main ideas, or tips that were talked about during an event, especially an event where we have a guest speaker or if it is a skill building workshop.

Working as a student marketing ambassador has been a highly rewarding experience. I get to be the face of the department which means that I am able to connect with other marketing students and help connect them with all the valuable resources that the department offers. The ultimate goal for any of the events that the department hosts is for students to gain something valuable, whether that is a career skill, build their network, or reach out to the department to get their resume reviewed, or reach out to apply for an internship or job that the department posted.

During my first year of being a marketing ambassador, I did everything remotely and virtually, including events. That is because my first year of being an ambassador was when COVID-19 was in full force. Nevertheless, being remote did not take away learning opportunities for me in this role. Instead, I constantly made a bigger effort to brainstorm events that could be fun and informative for students even while being virtual. I constantly reached out to my supervisor and pitched ideas for engagement with students and made an effort to be involved in as many projects as possible.

Now that I am in my second year of being an ambassador, I can say that I have learned so many valuable skills. These skills range from event planning, writing and storytelling, communication, project management, design skills, and most importantly learning what it means to build a network. I have met so many amazing students and faculty that are always willing to mentor you and have your back as you navigate your career. However, one of the things I value the most from this role is that my supervisor, Jessica Sanborn, has become a mentor to me. She is always willing to give me advice, helps me navigate my career path, and is always there to support me, connect me with resources, and to challenge me so I can grow professionally.