Professional Development Event: A Great Success

On November 13^th I had the opportunity to attend a professional development event. This affair was held at the beautiful Hudson Business Lounge in Milwaukee. Major sponsors for the event include Big Shoes Network, PRSA, and the Hudson Business Lounge.

When we arrived at the venue, I was surprised at how many people showed up for the occasion. It was a great turnout; with over 80 students and 45 professionals. The event kicked off with a short informative presentation by Jeff Carrigan, the founder of Big Shoes Network. After that, students paired off with professionals to conduct a mock interview.

 The first professional I met was Allison Kubacki. Ms. Kubacki currently works for a digital agency called Lightburn, where they specialize in web design, development, and search engine optimization. After our short mock interview, Allison offered advice for future interviews. She also shared with me her facinating story of how she got to where she is today.

The next professional I met was Alyssa Hintzen. We conducted the mock interview and she provided feedback along the way, telling me how I did at answering each specific question. Alyssa was especially helpful at helping me understand the agency world as she began her career at an agency called Trefoil Group. I found her advice to be both insightful and practical.

The third and final professional I met with was Mr. Juan Paz. In the third breakout session, student switched roles with professionals and conducted an informational interview. It was nice to have the chance to ask questions that we normally wouldn’t ask in a traditional interview. Juan told me about his career path and emphasized the importance of following your passion. Juan currently works at Kohl’s in their corporate office. He deals with sports marketing, ad planning, credit marketing, and Tax Free/Tax Relief Programs. Juan was clearly very passionate about his career and that passion shined through as he was telling me about his job.
Overall, this event was extremely helpful. I learned valuable tips from successful professionals. I look forward to graduation so that I can apply what I learned into my own life as I move forward and start my career.  After this event, I feel much more comfortable in an interview setting. I am so thankful that the professors for the PR program really go the extra mile to help students prepare for the future by hosting events like this. Go UWW!