Fifteen Lake Forest students ended the semester with style at Marketing Industry Day, a full-day immersive event designed for those with an interest in marketing and communications.

The group spent the day in downtown Chicago, where they visited the offices of CenturyLink, Peapod, and LinkedIn. As they met with professionals and toured the offices, students learned about a variety of topics in marketing and communications, including digital marketing, ecommerce, professional branding, strategy, and operations. They also had the chance to meet with several Lake Forest College alumni, including Charle Fern ’94, Hannah Michal ’09, Tanner Bednar ’17, and Peter Giere’18 at CenturyLink, and Tiffany Milliken ’05 at Peapod to learn more about their career paths.

Business major Taylor Jackson ’20 described Marketing Industry Day as an eye-opening experience. “It showed me the multifaceted purposes of marketing and its ability to manifest its way into many different aspects of a company, not just one sole marketing team working on one campaign,” she said.

Fern, CenturyLink’s senior manager of segment strategy and field marketing, hosted students for a special presentation at the company’s downtown offices. “‘Marketing’ is such a broad term,” she said. “I wanted to give the students a practical idea of what a job in marketing at a Fortune 500 company would be like. We explained the different types of roles that exist in the company— from brand and creative to content and digital to sales.”

A former Forester women’s basketball coach, Fern said that she was happy  to meet with current Lake Forest students. “I think that if you can help one student, then it’s totally worth it—whether that’s in a literal sense of getting them a job or in the philosophical sense of showing how your career can evolve with a degree from Lake Forest College.”

After their visit to CenturyLink, students learned how to market themselves and create a professional brand at LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. The special industry day ended with a trip to the national headquarters of Peapod, where marketing manager Milliken—along with several company executives—provided insight about ecommerce, digital marketing, and commercial planning.

The trip aimed to not only teach students about the many possibilities of careers in marketing, but also to allow students to experience dynamic workplace environments and provide opportunities to meet with passionate professionals.

“Being in different companies with distinct cultures was a really cool experience,” Jackson said. “This event was 100 percent worth it. You will never get exposure to connections like these any other way.”