Name: Rachel Koestner
Hometown: No Pho (Phoenix), AZ
Major/minor: Marketing and Business Tourism
Graduation year: May 2015
Celebrity crush: Michael Ealy (but really first and foremost…Beyonce. Lezbihonest.)
What made you choose your major?
I love watching people (not creepy) and figuring out what makes them tick. So I first thought psychology… but then I was like “What? I need a PhD?! AKA lot’s of school.. NAH.” So marketing sounded like a major that incorporated analyzing people and creating a business offering around that. [Then] I added business tourism my sophomore year because I really, really love to travel. I took a class about tourism, had a rad professor (Brandon Royal) who took the time to ask us about our aspirations and all that fluffy stuff, so I was like… I mean, why not?
What else do you do around campus?
This is my second year being a Community Assistant for the W. P. Carey Residential College, and it’s my biggest commitment on campus. Basically what this job requires is to keep a floor of freshmen alive for one academic school year. This simplified explanation may sound easy, but it’s one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had… but also the best. If I look back on my college career thus far, I think becoming a CA has been the best decision that I’ve made. I’ve met some amazing people that I call my best friends, I have heard some crazy stories, seen some crazy things and learned to put others before myself. My only complaint? Three years of dining hall food… Lord, help me. On top of this, I work as a Desk Assistant at the Student Success Center in both W. P. Carey and Sonora. Basically, I swipe people into the tutor center and watch as the tutors do the actual hard work. It’s kind of awesome cause it forces me to work on my homework when the tutor center isn’t too busy and I have free time. As far as clubs and organizations go, I occasionally join Habitat for Humanity in building homes on Saturday mornings, attend meetings and social events for Campus Crusade for Christ, and contribute to the Honors Marketing Advisory Board.
What is Zion & Zion? What do you do there? Do you love it? Is it awesome?
Zion & Zion is a full-service marketing, advertising, PR, and graphic design firm located on 5th St and Farmer, right off of Mill Ave. I work as the Public Relations & Social Media Intern here, and I absolutely love it. Their mantra is “where business meets creative” so it’s such an awesome environment to learn the ropes in the social media universe where they give me full creative responsibilities over certain accounts that they manage. I do everything from planning Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram updates to presenting to the PR department trends in the business marketplace. It’s a challenging job and very time-consuming, but it has taught me a tremendous amount about myself, my passions, and my creative thinking. Plus OMG they scheduled everyone to get free massages one day. Like what, this place is heaven.
How do you find time to do everything?
This semester has been the busiest that I’ve ever experienced by a long shot. I work 3 jobs and have 2 majors, on top of the fact that I require at least 7 hours of sleep each night to be a functioning human being; I knew this year was going to challenge me in numerous ways, but this is what keeps me driven. Besides the fact that my day planner is my lifeline, I have learned to make times of rest and quality friendships a priority in my life. Setting aside at least an hour each day to either read, have a coffee date, or just sit in my room and listen to music has helped me keep my sanity. Oh, and coffee. Gotta give credit to coffee.
Why inspires you to do so much around school?
If I wasn’t constantly busy with stuff I would honestly be in my room watching Netflix all day and deteriorating from over-consumption of Bagel Bites. And I’m an extrovert, so I have to be surrounded by people 24/7. Being involved in a lot means that I get to meet the coolest, weirdest, most exciting people and hear their stories so that makes it eternally exciting.
What do you like to do in your free time? If you have any…
I have my occasional binge TV days (New Girl, Mindy Project, Gilmore Girls, etc), but mostly I love exploring this city and finding cool places that I haven’t heard about before. Usually that means sketchy restaurants or coffee shops filled with hipsters, but anything new is super exciting to me. And shopping. But mostly thrift stores because I’m too poor to really shop.
What do you want to accomplish before graduation?
Oh gosh, so much.. I want to go on a spontaneous overnight roadtrip somewhere, meet a stranger somewhere and talk to them for an hour at least, get Dean’s List every semester, climb A mountain after an all-nighter and watch the sunrise, never have to pull an all-nighter at Hayden, become a regular at a coffee shop, swim through Hayden fountain, get my face on one of the walls of W. P. Carey, fall in love (what, who said that?), and mentor someone meaningfully… among others.
What do you want to do with your degree and what are some long term goals of yours for the future?
I have like 50 million goals that change each day, but I want to (1) work for an advertising agency and work on creative campaigns for clients, (2) be a brand manager for a big name company like P&G (3) be a flight attendant, or (4) open my own foster home and have kids running around everywhere and be the worst soccer mom ever.
If you could dine with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Freaking Rosa Parks! She was a ballsy little spitfire and I wanna tell her I have mad respect for her. Slash ask her advice on how to be cool like her.
Is there anything you would like to add?
Oh, oh! I’m studying abroad in Madrid next semester so my life is about to be AWESOME.