By: Maria Dalton
Let’s face it, not everyone has the perfect job lined up straight after graduation. After being in education for just about 18 years, the idea of having nothing to do, no commitments, and no deadlines after graduation can be terrifying. But, sometimes you’ve just got to let life happen and work itself out. This week, we interviewed Brenna Cogswell. Brenna graduated from Mount Holyoke in 2012 but spent her junior year studying abroad in St. Andrews. She currently works as a Marketing Associate with Catera Commerce in Boston. Yet, Brenna didn’t have this amazing opportunity set up months before graduation. As Brenna told us, ‘during my graduation ceremony, all I had figured out was that I wanted to find a job after graduation rather than continuing on directly to a grad school and that I wanted to live in either Boston or New York..I still had no idea what in the world I wanted to actually do. I majored in Cultural Anthropology, which I loved for its flexibility in allowing me to pursue topics I was genuinely interested in…and hated for its lack of ability to allow me to focus in on any specific career field.’ After she graduated she ‘was planning on returning home (just outside Chicago) and job searching for all eternity…but instead went on a road trip with some best friends from High School out to Cape Cod. We spent a week on the beach and enjoying life post-grad. I then trekked down to Baltimore, Maryland to spend a week with my sister. All the while I was taking phone interviews and applying for jobs (maybe I really don’t know how to relax…) and was excited to learn I landed a Marketing Internship that was set to start in mid-July. Having less than 2 weeks to prepare once I returned from my New England Euro-tripping, I packed two suitcases and spent the rest of the summer living on the floors of friends’ apartments in Boston while learning the ins and outs of email marketing. Since that hectic start, I have found my rhythm. I work with major airlines and banks to market and promote their rewards programs. Anyone in need of earning frequent flyer miles? I’m your girl.
My typical day at work involves a lot of meetings, question asking, writing, creative design, and content coordination across the many different stakeholders for each project I am involved with. I have loved learning the ins and outs of the email marketing world and have learned more about the internet than I ever thought there was to know. I love being challenged and am still learning new things every day! After work I either meet up with friends in the city, or catch up on my online TV shows…I’m obsessed with Downton Abbey (the 3rd season just ended here…how could they kill off Matthew?!). I also miss St. Andrews on a daily basis.’
We asked Brenna if she felt that her experience studying abroad helped her in her job applications. Her opinion was that ‘study abroad experiences can help set you apart from others. While I can’t say directly “yes, studying abroad will increase your chances of finding employment,” I can say that for myself it provided me with confidence to jump into situations that may have previously been outside of my comfort zone. It also provides you with an arsenal of stories in case you ever need to make yourself sound interesting in an interview (knowing that I could handle Raisin Weekend as well as navigate across Europe on my own while trying to make it home in time for Christmas during the “Great snowstorm of 2010” are not things to be overlooked).’
Brenna has a lot of fond memories from St. Andrews, her stand out event being the Christmas Ball but she also thought that ‘May Dip was pretty incredible…I had also stepped on the PH so I guess it was necessary too. But I think the thing I miss most is my day-to-day life there. Walking along the coast to grab coffee at North Point, braving the Lizard, sitting in front of the fire at Ma Bells.’
In terms of advice for current students, Brenna said ‘I would like to take this opportunity to shout out to everyone who is graduating in the near future and still feels like they have no idea what they want to do…there is hope! I think the main thing is being open and willing to try new things and seeing how your skills and experiences can apply to new and challenging situations. Things are not cut and dry…there was no obvious next step for me like there had been previously. There was no new class schedule to pick out, no homework I was supposed to be doing, everything was reliant on my choices and my decisions…which is equally exciting as it is terrifying. I had never taken a marketing class, didn’t come from a Management or Marketing major, but I was able to leverage my learnings from Anthropology and focus on my strengths. This has allowed me to take on new real world challenges and view them more from a place of excitement rather than terror. The best advice I have received since accepting this position came from my manager, who once told me “it is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.” Trust your instincts, go with your gut, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and above all ask a ton of questions. You never know how your chosen major and experiences are preparing you for the road ahead, so live right now and then find what you enjoy doing most and figure out a way to make that into something long term.’
Well….we couldn’t have put it better ourselves! Her Campus would like to thank Brenna for her inspiring interview and wish her all the best of luck with her career.
If you know of any inspirational graduates that we should be talking to, then please let us know!