Originally published August 2015
Within the past week I’ve gone from working my summer job at Victoria’s Secret, hanging out with my friends and family, and enjoying my summer to frantically gathering everything I will need for when I move back into Northeastern University, this time to start my sophomore year. Even though I’m going to miss my family and friends at home, I’m definitely getting more and more excited to head back to school, thanks to the fact Northeastern University has some of the most interesting classes, clubs and people waiting for me when I return.
1. Captivating Classes
While I did take interesting classes last year, I am convinced those will pale in comparison to the classes I’m going to be taking this semester. My schedule for the upcoming semester is spectacular. I am taking classes that aren’t necessarily for filling graduation requirements, but ones I’m genuinely interested in, and in a variety of subjects to boot. For business, I’m taking ‘Supply Chain and Operations Management,’ one of the last business core classes I need to fulfill a requirement for, and ‘Marketing Research.’ I’m particularly interested in ‘Marketing Research,’ as it is my first marketing concentration class, a way for me to expand upon ‘Introduction to Marketing’ and learn more about marketing as a whole. While I know I have an interest in marketing, this will be the first of many classes I will take to figure out what direction I want to go in.
Something that is different from last year for me as well is that I’m not taking an entire semester of business classes, I’m instead adding variety. This semester I am able to take ‘World History After 1945’ and ‘Globalization and International Affairs.’ Both of these will help me complete my international affairs minor, and the world history course makes me one step closer to completing my history minor. I’m especially excited because I have always loved history and been intrigued by international affairs, so I am finally able to take classes to develop these interests.
2. Emerging Markets Club
During the spring of last year, one of the clubs I was involved with, Northeastern University’s Global Summit, evolved and became the Emerging Markets Club. The end of last year focused primarily of filling out needed forms, talking to Northeastern personnel, and making sure everything was taken care of for this upcoming semester. While I enjoyed having the opportunity to help create a club on campus, the future for the Emerging Markets Club is what truly excites me. This semester I am Head of Communications, which essentially means that I run the club’s social media, as well as connecting with speakers and convincing them to come in and speak to the club.
The ability to gain marketing experience firsthand I find not only exciting, but also incredibly valuable, as I will be able to have a greater understanding about social media marketing, event marketing, and sales for when I apply for a future co-op or job. I am also equally enthusiastic about bringing in speakers, as the speakers we already have scheduled should be interesting. We currently have a panel on Greece and its current economic issues (9/28); Nathan Eagle, CEO of Jana Mobile (10/5); and Northeastern startup Nomadic Attire (10/19). The opportunities to hear about businesses that deal with emerging markets explain their perspectives, as well as hear people discuss their research concerning emerging markets, are sure to make for an interesting year.
3. Northeastern University Marketing Association
Another club I enjoy being a part of is Northeastern University’s Marketing Association (NUMA). This year I am Vice President of Membership, which means that I am in charge of running events that inspire more people to become members, getting members more involved, and running new events and programs such as our mentorship program. I absolutely love NUMA and all it has given me in the past year alone. I have met some of my closest friends through the club, I have the inside scoop on co-ops and campus activities thanks to older members willing to give me advice, and I feel as though I know so much more about marketing thanks to the amazing speakers the club brings in. I even had the opportunity to attend a conference in New Orleans last year, which makes me even more excited for the speakers and opportunities in store this year, especially now that I am even more involved in making some of them happen!
4. The Hunt for Co-Op
One of the most exhilarating parts of the semester, as well as the most terrifying, is the idea of hunting for a co-op. The way Northeastern University works is that students have the opportunity to take six months off from studying to go out and gain meaningful work experience in their field of interest. The companies where co-ops are available are incredible as well, with some of my marketing friends having had work experience at Amazon, VMWare, Staples, and Intuit. I am excited to finally start seeing what types of marketing I am interested in pursuing, and although I am leaning towards content marketing and branding, the opportunity to work for six months in any marketing job is invaluable, and will definitely help me discover what I want to accomplish in my career.
5. Seeing Friends
The last, and arguably most important, reason I am excited to go back to school is to see my amazing friends. I am lucky enough to be living with two of my best friends, and have the majority of my friends living be on campus (although a select few are busy being superstars and working in locations like Seattle and Palo Alto). My friends and I try to get the most out of Boston as we can, and between the events of first semester (fashion show, Neil Patrick Harris book signing) and the adventures of second semester (St. Patrick’s Day Parade, touring Fenway), I have seen some pretty amazing shows, events, people, etc. in the city. Yet there is still so much to explore, and because there are some of the coolest people I know waiting for me at Northeastern, I couldn’t be more excited to go back.
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