Controlled Chaos - Weekly Report #7

This past week was a crazy, fun time. I believe I last left off on my interview with Paul Matsen, CMO of the Cleveland Clinic. Since then, I have conducted two more interviews, confirmed four upcoming discussions, won districts with the JV tennis team, fasted for Yom Kippur, and went to Business Symposium; the latter three happened all in one day :) So yeah, it's been a little chaotic.

About Business Symposium, I immensely enjoyed it. It reminded me of my time at DECA conventions, more importantly, the networking aspect. We got to dress up in our suits, talk to numerous business professionals and hear a little of their advice, and connect with other like-minded high school students. I have already continued conversations with two professionals I met and have confirmed one interview and another is being finalized.

Likewise, I have set up four interviews with marketing professionals under the same company. I had a connection reach out to the marketing heads and introduce me. Since then, I have conducted two interviews; one with Thomas Rogers, VP of Marketing Technology & Operations, and the other with Cassandra Johnson, AVP of Business Marketing in the Pharmacy sector. I think both helped me better understand the marketing industry options, specifically where I can go in the industry and how best to set myself up for the future. I found this really helpful, as most of this advice is insider information and only learned after a long time in the industry and isn't really seen in any books.

I have learned an interesting lesson so far; people call each other by their first names. Saying it out loud, it sounds obvious. However, I am currently in school, so I'm primed to call adults by their last names, using a prefix. So, it was a small but noteworthy adjustment.

Looking forward to the future, we have the sixth research assessment, a Business Symposium evaluation. This Friday is the conclusion of the first marking period, thus why we only have one more assignment due. Overall, I'm delighted with the number of professionals in my network. I am very excited to see where these connections take me. Until next week,

- Samantha Stein