Can you sense the drive in Kendall Byl’s spirit? When asked about when she knew she wanted to study marketing, she piped, “I found I really loved the marketing field, so I walked into my advisor’s office the first day of college and declared myself a marketing major.” This Kogod alum and former Her Campus American Contributing Writer is, and always will be, a woman with a plan.
Kendall currently works as an Assistant Account Executive at Grey Group NY. However, she knew that she was a marketing enthusiast since she started taking related classes at her high school in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Sparks flew when Kendall realized that she could transform her love for design into her life’s work. So once she became a student at AU, she took marketing classes which ended up being her “favorite classes by far.”
When you look up the word “involvement” in the dictionary, do not be surprised if an image of Kendall and a description of her active college career are both featured. While at AU, she made sure that she was, as she put it, “good and busy” by filling many roles. In addition to being a writer for Her Campus American during its earlier stages, Kendall also contributed to Technorati and the USA Today College Blog. She also is a brother and served as an executive board member of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity.
But Kendall did not stop there. In addition to being business-oriented, this Campus Celebrity is also passionated about sports and community service. She played on the club field hockey team and coached lacrosse at a nearby high school. The marketing mogul also gave back to the community by being a leader for Young Life and Campaigners, a Christian mentoring program.
Life after graduation has continued to be fulfilling for Kendall. Although the daily commute to New York City has been taxing, she believes that the experience is totally worth it because she is now working for the agency that was originally, she stated, “at the top of my list.” As an Assistant Account Executive at Grey, Kendall oversees internal teams and interacts with clients to create effective marketing campaigns. She does not hesitate to give AU credit: “AU prepared me for my career in that I was always pushed to intern, to try opportunities and network as much as possible,” Kendall said. “I cannot even begin to describe how crucial networking has been!!”
Her words of wisdom for current AU students? “Enjoy college! Do whatever makes you happy, because in the end, that’s all that really matters.”
Best AU memory: Too many to count! One that sticks out right now was SigEp‘s formal on a boat my junior year; it was an absolutely hilarious night.
Favorite spot on campus: Kogod 2nd floor – the area with the white couches
Favorite place in DC: I have two: Kushi, which is a restaurant downtown, and the National WWII Memorial
Find Kendall Byl on LinkedIn, follow @KendallByl on Twitter and visit Kendall’s Tumblr blog.