#ComPro2017

Photo Credit: Peter van der Steege

In my current block at the Hanze, I have to present my research on the field of marketing communications. My research results are to be presented at the ComPro held by the Hanze University of Applied Sciences. The ComPro event is an event organized by the first-year International Communication students to gain meaningful insight on prospective job opportunities in the field of communications. The information gathered from the research will be presented in a booth for the first-year international communications to see, and to gain knowledge on the field of Marketing Communications.

In a previous blog post of mine, I mentioned an interview I did with a company called Brandreclame. The results of my interview with the account director of the company will be displayed at my booth. This is only the second time I’ve ever held a booth for people to come up and look at for knowledge.

Because the company we interviewed uses pink as a focal point in their advertising, we decided we are going to wear pink shirts for the ComPro event. We also decided to set candy out on the desk and to make a game where participants can earn the candy by answering questions about the marketing field correctly. I’m not too sure about what sort of game I should make that will get the participants engaging. My group and I made posters using the colors pink as well that we are going to hang up on the panels of our booth. These posters contain information on the field of advertising.

Preparing for this event is stressful because I have to be able to bring in an audience, and then to entertain the audience. It is also stressful because my group sometimes does not agree on the same ideas, which makes setting up confusing. The Compro event is next week and I’m hoping that our booth is visually appealing and interesting to look out. My final grade depends on how well my group and I do at the ComPro, so wish me luck! 

Global Citizenship and Fur Farming?

Photo Credit: Unesco

For an assignment in one of my classes I had to give a presentation on global citizenship.  Let me be honest and say I had no idea what global citizenship was and what a good topic to present would be. After lots of research I finally figured out what a global citizen is. Being a global citizen is about being active in the community to help build up that community’s value and practices.

So, I know what global citizenship is, but what would I present? I didn’t want to be like everyone else in the class and present on a topic that 10 other people would present on. At first I wanted to present on the issues concerning Donald Trump, but I felt that wasn’t a highly global citizenship issue, so instead I decided to present on fur farming, as it deals with the environment and has been around for centuries.

Fur farming is the practice of breeding animal for their fur and more than 85% of the industries fur comes from fur factory farms. I felt this would be a great topic to present on because deep down people know what they are wearing, but they don’t stop and think about the process these animals go through. I spent nights researching on everything fur farm related; celebrities who wear fur, what the animals go through, fur free retailers, etc. To be able to inform the class on the harsh reality of fur farming, I had to gather plenty of information to persuade my classmates not to buy fur or from fur-retailers.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been much of a persuasive person. After reading what happens to the animals whose fur is used to make fashionable clothing, I wanted to make sure I could convince my classmates. These animals go through horrible and unfit living conditions just for fashion, and that isn’t right.

The day of my presentation came, and I was obviously nervous but I stood in front of the class and presented the findings of my research. After I was done giving my presentation, my teacher admitted she didn’t know much about fur farming. I’m glad that this simple assignment turned out to be an opportunity for me to help raise awareness for an issue that has been ongoing for a long time now. In the end, I’m happy with the topic I chose and I’m glad that I had the chance to speak out on it.

Being an International Student in the Netherlands

Photo Credit: Toerisme

A few months prior to moving to the Netherlands to study at the Hanze University, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. The only thing I knew what I wanted to do was to study abroad, and that’s where I started. Shortly after beginning the International Communications program at Hanze, I realized that this program was unlike any other. This program allowed me to meet so many students from all over the world! I met students from Bulgaria, Italy, Aruba, Lebanon, and so many more countries I never even heard of.

At Hanze, it is required to pair up with people from other countries and work on the final projects with the people in that group. Doing this allowed me to experience the other cultures of the world. I could really see the culture of those students come to life when it meant getting together and starting on our projects. Because this is a University of Applied Sciences, I had to work hard and pay attention to my classes.

This program wasn’t always the easiest for me. There were times when I wanted to give up because I couldn’t understand what the teachers were trying to communicate. Sometimes the teachers were bad with English, and other times they were just too vague and couldn’t explain what they meant properly. Nevertheless, I worked hard and pulled through in the end.

I think the hardest thing about being an international student was getting around the city. Street signs and busses are all in Dutch and if you don’t learn the basics of the language, getting around is impossible. Obviously, most people here in the Netherlands speak English but because I’m so shy I preferred getting lost and finding my way an hour later rather than asking someone for directions. Another thing I struggled with was that my American bank card wasn’t accepted so I had to transfer money from my PayPal to my boyfriend’s bank account, and then have that transferred into my Dutch bank account.

I realized that this study program wasn’t for me While studying Entrepreneurship in the third block of this program. I’ve never been much of a people person, and I figured I would give this program a chance anyway. I fell in love with the first block of the program, which was Public Relations. I enjoyed dealing with social media and keeping relationships, however I did not like the part about marketing and business. Although this program isn’t for me, I gained a wonderful life experience. By studying abroad for a year, I gave myself the chance to experience and learn new things I could never do back home in America. Even if I would have known this program wasn’t the one for me in the beginning, I still would choose to study abroad because it has changed the way I see the world and the people in it. 

Visiting an Advertisement Agency!

Photo Credit: Brandreclame

For my final project assignment, I had to interview a company working in the field of communications. My group and I decided to interview the company Brandreclame. Brandreclame is an advertising agency with a modern look.

The interview was scheduled for this morning in the Euroborg of Groningen. I have never interviewed a company myself so I was quite nervous! The area this company was in was crowded with buildings and students, so it was hard to find. My groupmate and I spent 5 minutes wandering around to even find the place! Eventually we found the office of Brandreclame hidden inside a building in the back of the Euroborg.

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into their office so I put on a smile and tried my best to not let my nervousness show. My groupmate and I walked into their office and was greeted by the CEO, and were offered a seat on the couch. My groupmate was in charge of asking the questions while I wrote them down. The guy we were interviewing is an account director. We learned about all his responsibilities with the clients and how he aims to maintain relationships. Before we did this interview, I never ever knew what an account director was. He showed us examples of his advertising products and even let us take home some samples such as an energy drink.

The interview took only about 20 minutes, and I gained so much knowledge on the job that I didn’t know when I walked into the interview. My nervousness went away about halfway through the interview, and it was delightful. The company was cute and modern and I could see myself working there one day.

This interview really prepared me and gave me insight to what interviewing someone is like, and I really look forward to performing another interview later on in my life if possible.