Name: Po Yi Lai (Call me Meru!)
Major: Marketing
Hometown: Hong Kong
Year: Junior
Why UP?
I wanted to come to University of Portland because the class sizes are smaller and more personal than most other universities. I also thought that, as a religious, Jesuit school, they’d be really focused on quality academics, so it would just be a better learning environment over all. Plus, Portland is just such a beautiful, great place to live, with amazing food!
Three words that describe you?
Optimistic, helpful, and hardworking!
On an average day, what would we find you doing?
In my free time, when I’m not studying, I usually end up watching a lot of movies and listening to music (especially dance music, I love to dance!). Some days, I go to the gym!
Future plans?
After I graduate from UP, I want to go back home to Hong Kong and find a position in Advertising.
What got you interested in marketing?
My family has a business of their own, and my original plan was to use my degree to help them with it after I graduate. Now, though, I kind of want to do something different, outside of their business, and make my own way.
What kind of company would you like to advertise for?
I think I’d love to work for a Japanese company’s marketing division in particular, just because of how creative and unique their ads and commercials always are! I want to know, firsthand, how something so bizarre can be so popular and effective!
So, creativity is key?
Yes, for me it really is! Creative marketing is the absolute best and most important thing, not just because it makes advertisements interesting, but because that’s what I do best! Creativity is my strongest trait, and I work better when there is more originality and imagination in what I do. I wouldn’t work well in a boring job where I don’t have that freedom and have to stick to rigid, fixed work.