By Kalli Licata
The NC State American Marketing Association (AMA) chapter hosted its 5th annual regional conference on Saturday, Jan. 28, in the ballrooms of Talley Student Union. The theme of the conference was personal branding with the slogan, “Make Your Mark.” Over 100 students and professors from Poole College of Management and Fayetteville State University were in attendance, along with speakers from companies including Zeno Group, Cisco and McKinsey & Company.
It was such a surreal moment for me, as the AMA is where I first discovered my passion for marketing, my desire to be a strong leader, and the push to go after my wildest dreams.
Keynote speaker Lauren Beane, digital marketer at Cisco and TEDx speaker, experienced a full circle moment being that she was AMA president in 2016 and 2017. “It was such a surreal moment for me, as the AMA is where I first discovered my passion for marketing, my desire to be a strong leader, and the push to go after my wildest dreams,” said Beane.
In addition to speaker presentations, conference attendees had the opportunity to participate in two competitions: Perfect Pitch and a Business Case. For Perfect Pitch sponsored by Sherwin Williams, each individual had 90 seconds to pitch themselves based on the prompt provided, and the three highest scoring participants won a share of the $600 prize fund. Business Case teams were given two hours to evaluate, analyze, and find the best solution for the case. The top performing team was awarded $600.
The top scoring participants of this year’s competitions included seven Poole College of Management students: Ben Cole, Trevor Bode, Emma Collins, Sina Wissmann, Natascha Krause Feld, Marah Cloos and Jana Koslowski.
This year’s conference received great praise from both students and professionals in attendance. The topic of Personal Branding was one that deeply resonated with students.
Apart from being an amazing opportunity to network and meet employers, I learned a lot about embracing my own story and international background to become more culturally confident and ready to make my own mark.
“Apart from being an amazing opportunity to network and meet employers, I learned a lot about embracing my own story and international background to become more culturally confident and ready to 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬,” said top performer, Marah Cloos.
Senior Federica Lenti, IBDD student and VP of Events Operations spearheaded the organization of the fifth annual regional conference. Preparation for the event began nearly six months ago under the leadership of Lenti, who led the committee of nearly 20 AMA members. She said, “I hope that through this event, students better understand how valuable they are and how much potential they truly have. Wolfpack, you are ready to Make Your Mark!”
The NC State AMA Chapter is an internationally recognized chapter of the American Marketing Association and the largest business organization at NC State. The association’s main objective is to provide students, regardless of major, professional development through bi-weekly meetings in Nelson Hall. Each meeting consists of a presentation from an industry professional with a variety of topics ranging from marketing to overall professional development. Members also have the opportunity to join CMS Consulting, AMA’s student-led marketing agency. AMA provides members with other programs and workshops such as its Linkedin workshop, Meet the Pros event and mentorship program.
Through its emphasis on professional development and meaningful connections, AMA empowers NC State students to achieve the careers of their dreams.
The NC State AMA chapter is advised by Pieter Verhallen, teaching assistant professor in marketing, and Tom Byrnes, senior lecturer in marketing.
Results of the Regional Conference
Perfect Pitch (Individual):
- 1st – Ben Cole (Poole College of Management)
- 2nd – Trevor Bode (Poole College of Management)
- 3rd – Emma Collins (Poole College of Management)
Business Case (Teams of 3-6 people):
- 1st – Sina Wissmann, Natascha Krause Feld, Marah Cloos, and Jana Koslowski (Poole College of Management)
- Categories:
