Happy first snow! We hope you're all staying warm in this weather ❄️ In the meantime...
⭐Take a look at our 2nd blog of November! This week, we highlight Ami Brannan and her journey into Marketing!
⭐As usual, connect with her here!
Ami Brannan is a recent graduate of Ohio State (BSBA, 2024) who specialized in Marketing from Athens, OH. Some of her involvements outside of ABSA included the Honors Cohort, WIB (Diversity and Inclusion Chair, VP of Marketing, and President), Resident Advisor (RA), and the Filipino Student Association. Currently based in Chicago, she is a Marketing and Loyalty Associate Analyst at United Airlines.
We left our conversation with Ami with new found motivation: taking opportunities that come our way! She encouraged us to try new things that come our way, and also highlighted prioritizing ourselves in order to seek and pursue our passions.
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Ami, who grew up half White half Asian in a small, rural part in Ohio, said she often felt disconnected with her culture growing up. Attending Ohio State inspired her to get in touch with her culture and get out of her comfort zone with the many cultural organizations. Deciding to join ABSA, she enjoyed meeting people from different cultures who shared similar interests.
Ami recognizes ABSA for not just the social opportunities, but also its emphasis on professional development from resume building to how to network. This balance encouraged her to take on leadership roles. During her first year she joined the leadership committee, became the Director of Marketing her second year, and then Director of Communications her junior year. Ami appreciates the experience she received from working with the other E-Board members and holding different positions in the club throughout her time.
“I definitely owe a lot of my business acumen and skills to ABSA. [However,] from a leadership perspective, as well, being able to be on the committees and to be on the executive board were just great opportunities to learn how to work with others and how to run an organization.”
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With ABSA’s introduction to business, Ami landed a Content Marketing internship with Ohio State's Office of Distance and Education E-learning her freshman year, gaining some marketing experience. The summer after her sophomore year, she did the Fisher Global Internship, and ended up working for a small startup called Yellow Soft Skills for tech in Barcelona. Her junior year, she joined the marketing and loyalty department in Chicago for United, which eventually turned into her current full time role.
From internship to full-time, her routine as an intern allowed for an easier transition to her current full time position. Like mentioned in previous blogs, most often it’s the lifestyle transition that’s the most difficult (check out Connor’s blog for more on this!). So, to give you all a better idea of what post grad life is like, here’s a day in Ami’s life:
Pre-work: workout/run@ Work: Arrive @ office at around 8:30/8:45 am Calls, catching up on emails/projects, meetings, and more!Post-Work (5-9): Go home at round 4-5pm Workout/Run if did not in morning Relax, dinner, bed *sometimes going out to eat/exploring the city!& Repeat! :)◦◦◦
As students search for internships, Ami encourages us to be open to any opportunity.
“I think there's lots of different roles and industries and things that you can do. I would recommend applying to anything that looks remotely interesting, and then to also make sure to put your best foot forward in every interview process, even if you're interviewing with something that you may not love or you kind of think of as a backup.”
As Ami reflects on her journey and her current day to day work, she recommends that students are as early as they can in their college careers. She emphasizes the following:
Cultivating organization
Working requires balance! Start that practice of balance in school: homework, jobs, and organizations are a great way to practice this moving forward.
Learn how to work with others
The workforce involves encountering different personalities and varying work styles, so it is important to gain that sense of flexibility. She praises Fisher on the group projects and student organizations that require group collaboration, but also recommends that students try to get outside of the Fisher bubble and explore other involvements.
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ILooking towards the future, as Ami’s position is in marketing and loyalty, she hopes to move to a more marketing focused role within United in the near future and remains open to any upcoming opportunities. Her favorite part of United is that
“The airline industry is just a very interesting, very dynamic and fun industry. There's always new things happening and news coming out, and so that's something I really like about working there, is I'm never bored, and that I do find interest in the work that I'm doing. With the culture, everyone's just really open to helping each other and learning from each other. I don't ever feel nervous reaching out to anyone for help, doing a coffee chat with someone if I'm interested in their industry or their job.”
She’s eager to dive into any industry related to marketing, and is eager to continue exploring the applications of this field to multiple industries. While Chicago is closer to home, Ami hopes to explore other cities abroad and potentially take a job outside the US or pursue a Master’s program in this environment to get the most of all the experiences out there!
We wish her the best as she continues to conquer new opportunities!
Good luck on all your finals and we’ll see you all in the next edition :)
Cheers to winter break,
Media Committee
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