Show Up and Stand Out

Stand out; be that red tulip in a field of yellow tulips. But how?

Photo by Rupert Britton on Unsplash

One of the best ways to stand out in a crowd is simply by showing up.

In my first semester freshman year, I joined SJSU Marketing Association (MA) and showed up at almost every workshop and social event. At the semesterly gala, I was given an award for “Always Attending” because I stood out as someone that’s dedicated to MA. In the spring semester, I was the one giving out awards because I became the events director.

When you hold a leadership position in a club or organization, show persistence and take open opportunities. I got my summer 2021 internship without applying because of a partnership through MA. During the spring semester, MA partnered with Takeoff Point Sony to promote their product, PresenceTalk. This is an app that connects high school students to current university students to learn about their experiences at their college. Officers had the opportunity to attend weekly marketing meetings with their team and give feedback and suggestions to improve their product and marketing tactics. Besides the president and vice president, I was the only other officer who attended all of their meetings. I did this because the product really intrigued me as someone who’s enjoyed mentoring since high school and I was also curious about marketing in the tech industry.

During these meetings, I suggested for them to partner with an organization that I was involved in during high school, Miss CEO. I reached out to the founder and set up a meeting with PresenceTalk representatives. They ended up partnering and hosting three college exploration events to gain feedback from high school students on the app. After all of the events, I asked if there were any opportunities to intern for the company. They said yes and created a product marketing internship for me because I helped them gain users through the partnership with Miss CEO, and came to meetings with suggestions and ideas.

My final advice is to show persistence in organizations that you’re passionate about and show up. What you put in is what you get out, so go above and beyond and challenge yourself. Don’t just do the bare minimum and the tasks that are given to you. Instead, suggest new initiatives and ideas to improve the organization.