Trust the Process: Undecided Freshman to Junior Marketing Student
By Avé D’Andrea
Everyone has been there. You just finished up your senior year of high school and are about to dive into the great unknown of college life. Among all the chaos of making new friends, learning the ins and outs of campus, and navigating a new course load, college freshmen are expected to pick a major that will lead them to a career that they are passionate about.
I had no idea what I liked doing; let alone something I was passionate about. So, I decided to enter my freshmen year undecided in the University Exploration Program. I remember feeling like I would never find anything that I genuinely liked, and I couldn’t help but compare myself to everyone around me who seemed so confident in their majors.
I was able to explore most of the majors at OSU through University Exploration’s weekly presentations, and I enrolled in classes that could potentially help me discover what I was interested in. I was surprised to find myself looking forward to my entrepreneurship class each week and enjoying reading the book and completing assignments. I could not remember the last time a class had intrigued me so much.
I slowly started to consider majoring in business but struggled to get past the stereotypes in my head. I pictured a career in business to be mundane – everyone dressed in uncomfortable suits, crunching numbers at their computers all day.
However, as the semester continued, I couldn’t ignore how interested I was in the class. I was learning about the many functions that make a successful business, and it wasn’t all about crunching numbers- it was about creativity too.
At the end of my first semester, I had to complete a final project for my Exploration survey class. The project entailed reaching out to someone in a field I was interested in and interviewing them about their career. My brother-in-law was a designer at CoverMyMeds, and he was able to connect me to their Senior Manager of Events and Marketing operations.
That interview was a very pivotal experience for me. It was the moment I learned what a career in marketing could look like. I asked her “what is your favorite part of working in this field?”. Her response was “I like that marketing is what is visible to consumers. You get to work with so many different parts of the business behind the scenes, but then you also get to see your work come to life.” Those words have always stuck with me and they are what encouraged me to finally apply to Fisher and begin my journey as a marketing student.
Fast forward two years, and I have learned so much more about marketing and myself. Through my classes and organizations like AMA, I have discovered that I am passionate about continuous learning, creative problem-solving, and understanding consumers.
If I could go back and have a conversation with my freshman self, I would tell her not to stress too much. It is okay to not know what you want to do, and it is okay to try a few things out before you find the right fit. College is the perfect time to explore your interests and learn who you are and what kind of career will be fulfilling to you. You will end up exactly where you are supposed to be.