Welcome to another Pamplin Student Spotlight! Today, we are highlighting Samantha Terry, who is a senior pursuing a dual degree in Marketing and Management. She is the current President of the Junior Marketing Advisory Board. Follow along to learn more about her opportunities taken from the role.

Q1: What are your responsibilities as President of JMAB?

As President, I am responsible for conducting biweekly member meetings, coordinating pop-up events, communicating with MAB members, and encouraging/ensuring participation of all JMAB members. I also act as a resource (whether for questions, insights, advice, or networking) for JMAB members and marketing students in general.

Q2: What is your favorite part of being a leader?

My favorite part of being a leader is being able to learn from every person that I interact with. I especially enjoy when those on my team offer ideas and different perspectives in order to take a simple event and make it as interactive and engaging for other students as possible. I like knowing that I can help foster an environment of mutual respect and let others feel comfortable to share their thoughts on how JMAB can improve and engage more with marketing students.

Q3: What is your favorite part of being in this organization?

My favorite part of being a member of JMAB is the relationships I’ve been able to build with my awesome fellow JMAB members, our impressive Marketing Advisory Board members, and our incredible Faculty Advisor, Professor Donna Wertalik. I can truly say that the connections I’ve made are some that will last a lifetime, both personally and professionally. As a graduating senior, knowing that I have this amazing organization in my corner no matter where I go is very uplifting and reassuring.

Q4: How do you interact with the Marketing Advisory Board?

I act as a representative for JMAB during meetings with MAB representatives, in order to coordinate activities between both JMAB and the MAB. I also network and help connect JMAB members and other marketing students with members of the MAB, as our Board members are incredible resources for professional (and personal) development. One of my favorite ways to interact with the MAB is through our end-of-semester MAB event, this year on April 20, 2023, where MAB members are in town to connect and network with marketing students. Students have the unique opportunity to ask these incredible alumni questions about marketing in general and/or their specific career and to develop professional relationships with the MAB.

Q5: What is the best part of being a marketing student?

The best part of being a marketing student is the opportunity to work with and learn from real marketing professionals who are actively interested in my (and all other VT marketing students’) future career path and wellbeing overall. Our marketing professors are passionate, knowledgeable, motivating, and understanding. Our professors also make it a point to bring in guest speakers from all different aspects of the “marketing” realm, so students can learn firsthand from many types of marketing professionals.

Q6: What is your biggest takeaway from being in the Pamplin College of Business over the past 4 years?

My biggest takeaway from being a student in Pamplin is that we are offered exceptional opportunities that we should take advantage of, but many of us don’t know of these opportunities. We have an outstanding alumni network (remember, “Hokies Help Hokies!”), generous scholarships, expert professors, dedicated staff, and professional clubs and organizations that can help set us up for success in the real world. I have been lucky enough to have stumbled upon some of the most amazing people I’ve ever met, and I know that I can turn to this Hokie support system at any point in the future. The Hokie network is powerful, smart, driven, and I can’t wait to be a part of it, and be able to connect with Hokie students in the future as a VT alum myself.