Digitally Creating Connections: Students meet Professionals in #promochat

Shelter-in-place orders, work-from-home arrangements, and social distancing has changed the way that we work. While businesses around the world are feeling these effects, it is remarkable how experiences we previously took for granted are completely different for so many in all areas of life. In education, events like graduations--that right of passage where you walk across a stage and receive your diploma as a transition into the next level, whether from Pre-K to Middle School, Middle to High School, High School to College, or College to life, has been suspended. On a smaller scale, normal processes like meeting for group work, holding office hours and working together, have all had to adapt. 

As an online professor for the Northern Illinois University Digital Marketing program, I was prepared to be online for my courses. This is how the class is set up. This is how I work. I function in a mostly digital environment. Although I had planned to come on campus once in a while to interact with students and peers, I knew for many I would exist in a digital environment. My office hours are held in Zoom chat rooms, and my fastest way of communicating is via text. 

What I wasn’t prepared for was working with a class of students, many of whom lived and worked on campus, but were suddenly thrust into a digital world. They weren’t necessarily prepared for this kind of work and had to adjust extremely quickly. While each educator did amazing things to bring their traditional class environment into a digital landscape, there is still so much that can be missed outside of the classroom. 

One of the things that students would lose was the ability to interact with professionals on a regular basis. The NIU College of Business, like most universities, offers regular opportunities for students to ask questions and network with industry professionals. But, how do you do that when a campus is closed? 

PromoKitchen is an amazing organization full of people willing to jump in and help, whatever the need. I was so excited when the #promochat committee agreed to partner up with the students to collaborate. Since our mission revolves around mentorship and education, it was a great fit and an opportunity to try something new. If you have ever looked at a marketing textbook or taken a class, you know that the promotional industry gets almost no mention. During my instagram takeover, I asked the students if they had heard of the Promotional Products Industry, and not a single one knew what it was, how big it was, or much less ever thought of it as a potential future employer. 

We invited the students of NIU to attend the virtual forum where questions were asked such as what advice professionals had, what jobs students were looking for, and many more. We had participation from several students from the college of business, and they asked perceptive, fantastic questions. After the forum the students that attended remarked how fun it was, how real everyone was and how they were looking forward to what their future could be like out among the promo-verse.

The students got to interact with industry professionals, and the professionals were able to support the students. It was a great first step to future partnerships and introducing business neophytes to a whole world of opportunities!

Author - Jessica Gibbons-Rauch, Owner of Trend on Brand and Adjunct Professor at Northern Illinois University