The University Marketing Association is a student-led organization that provides opportunities for students to learn more about the field of marketing and gain hands-on experience through real-life scenarios.
UMA president Jessica Teruel joins Christen Moore, Aimee Tewes, Asa Cropsey, Brock Kirchner and Anna Dodds to make up the 2020 UMA council. Dr. Robert Hucks, chair of the Division of Management, and Dr. Adele Dunn, faculty member in the school of Business, serve as the faculty sponsors of UMA.
UMA allows students to get a taste of how marketing affects the world outside the classroom. “The goal this year was to tailor each event where you would leave thinking ‘okay, I understand a little bit more of how the real world works,’” Teruel said. A lot of marketing skills are not textbook knowledge. Teruel said a lot of marketing is learning by trial and error and learning how to deal with a variety of people.
To give that practical experience to students, the UMA is partnering with BJU’s Bistro in a marketing campaign this semester. Students working on the Bistro marketing campaign are gaining experience in social media, analytics, content, and design. Teruel said that the level of involvement that UMA members have through the campaign is rare for college students to find even through an internship. The opportunity to take part in an on-campus marketing campaign allows students to see the impact of their work.
“The Lord just brought it together, and it has been cool to work with the culinary students and see their side of the industry and for them to see our side of the industry,” Teruel said. Working with those in other industries provides experience that will be valuable in the real world as students begin their careers.
The UMA also provides networking opportunities for students. The organization hosts events with Jackson Marketing and other local marketing agencies to connect and learn from professional marketers. On Nov. 5th, the UMA is touring Jackson Marketing, which will allow members to visualize what the day-to-day routine looks like working in marketing.
The UMA also recently hosted a marketing panel with professionals from the BJU marketing department. The panelists gave students an insider understanding as to how marketing is done at BJU.
Teruel, a journalism and mass communications major, realized that learning about marketing is practical for more than just business majors. She encourages those in other majors, especially those studying JMC, to join UMA to better understand the important role that marketing plays in the real world. “Digital media marketing is becoming how you consume news,” Teruel said. The UMA provides opportunities to gain a practical understanding of how marketing affects the world today.
The UMA is one of the few organizations on campus that is a chapter of a larger organization. When students join UMA, they also become a part of the American Marketing Association, which bears more weight on a resume. The AMA has more than 320 collegiate chapters across the U.S.
UMA members have opportunities to attend the AMA International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans each Spring. The event allows students to learn from professional marketers, participate in competitions, and network. UMA members have been attending the conference for the past few years and are planning to take a group in spring of 2021.
