>> I studied marketing.
I initially came in as an advertising student,
but wanted to learn more of the business side of things.
I loved being creative but wanted to see the business side as well,
so I switched over to be a marketing major.
Got into Smeal, where I did marketing in international business.
And I think understanding what your customer really wants,
and their needs is really important in any business; selling is essential to any type
of job you take at -- from a business degree.
So I really wanted to focus on honing in on those skills
that I could apply when I graduated.
So I actually worked in corporate America for over five years for a Fortune 200 company
where I was in a sales and analytical role.
It was a great company to work for and learned a lot.
But it was a very large company, so very different environment I jumped into.
But I just saw this need in the market through my involvement with different universities,
and through my involvement with Penn State on their alumni board at Smeal.
I saw this huge gap of where there's a technology need to better connect
to all the different parts of the engagement ecosystem.
So just kind of made jump and I've kind of been living it day by day.