Monday, June 12, 2017

MSBA Student Success Testimonial Series: Mary Wiles


Mary Wiles, MSBA '17, will be working at HITT Contracting Inc. as a Pursuits Associate. Read about Mary's experience with the MSBA Program, and how it helped her know that she wanted to pursue a career in marketing.

Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

There were many deciding factors on why I choose the MSBA program.  The main factor was that I felt that the program itself offered many great resources and opportunities. At the time of my acceptance, I recently graduated from CUA and I received my B.A. in psychology. With graduation approaching, my plans for after school were not quite finalized and the MSBA program was always on the back burner.  I ultimately knew I wanted to go back to school, but not particularly sure when, or most importantly for what.  I was also not certain on what career path I wanted to take. I love psychology, but I wasn’t sure if that was the route for me.  I was lucky enough to have that summer to decide if the MSBA program was for me.  Through countless conversations with Professor McHie, my parents, and a supervisor at my internship at the time, I decided that the program would be very beneficial. The program opened a lot of windows of opportunities for me, and allowed me to explore some of strengths I was unaware of.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be working at HITT Contracting Inc. as a Pursuits Associate. My position is a part of their marketing department at their HQ office. My main role will be managing, creating and prepping the proposals and interviews for their Atlanta office.

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work? 

This year during the program I learned a lot about my strengths and discovered new things about myself.  I’ve always been a visual learner and what you would consider a “poet.” I always knew that being analyst or someone working with numbers 24/7 was not the career path for me. During the program, I was always interested in our marketing classes and projects. My internship at Patriotic Millionaires allowed me to explore and work with their communications team. This led me to the self-discovery that I like being involved with the creative, strategic side of a business.  My current position gives me the best of both worlds of being the strategic, creative mind.

Q: How did the CUA MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

The MSBA program allowed me to really discover what my strengths and interests were, as well as give me the confidence I need to achieve what I really wanted to do.

Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

The Field Team Study really helped me prepare for my career, and any work environment in general. I was a consultant for GloveStix, which is an athleisure deodorizer product. This 5-month project taught me how to work with a team, a client, and on time management. My main role for this project was to work on the marketing portion, which reassured me this was the career I wanted to get into. Also, the GloveStix founder and president, Krista Woods, is such an inspiring individual. She was a great client to work with which really helped made my project a pleasure to work on!

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

There are so many! From attending all of our outings and field trips, to great professors and classes, I honestly had such a great experience with the MSBA program. I especially enjoyed spending time with my classmates every day!

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