During my gap year, I visited Hawaii with the plan to stay for only a month. I fell in love with a small amazing hostel with a warm community and found myself working there for 5 months. What I love about hostel life is the many different cultures and diversity you see coming together in harmony. It truly highlights how we are all so different yet so alike. I met many new people and had experiences I wouldn't trade for anything. The best part about being a receptionist at a hostel is that you are always interacting with the guests, becoming friends or just helping someone on their journey feel a little more at home.

As an inside sales representative, it was my job to cold call prospective clients to get past gatekeepers and find decision makers within hospitals while maintaining beneficial relationships with existing clients, working with them to expand our product lines. I worked with outside sales reps in south east U.S.A. to assist in obtaining sales meetings to introduce GE vital sign consumables into hospitals. The most challenging aspect of this industry is the medical care field being bureaucratic by nature. To implement new products or switch suppliers it was often a 3 to 6 month process for the hospital to gather all the key decision makers for a meeting and to gain approval from the key influencers. Even after approval, it could take time for the hospital to obtain the budget necessary to conduct business. What I liked most about this job was that I was completely autonomous while also having a team in the field to collaborate with. I learned a great deal of strength with the skill to take no's politely without giving up. I gained a thick skin by calling people who were not eager or had no time to talk, learning how to take rejection while still gathering useful information and names of people to follow up with. I improved my ability to manage many moving parts and projects with patients with persistence.

This internship was a great opportunity to get a taste of true marketing work while having autonomy and creative freedom. I performed my first market research project compiling lists of prospective clients and competitors within a 500 mile radius. This company is a consulting firm so seeking new business and selling yourself is key. One of my favorite responsibilities was taking emails and documents made by engineers, that were to be sent to clients, and structuring them in a aesthetically pleasing way with key information clear and easy to follow.

B.S. Business Administration, GPA 3.45/4.0, expected 2016Major: Marketing - International Business - Professional SalesScholarships: IU Valedictorian Award; IU Prestige Award; Indiana Fee Remit Award

Led Instagram campaigns resulting in 400% increase in followers. Worked with Access to create a financial database from scratch that went with a cash flows document I made in Excel. This was my first taste of a true business role related to my field of studies. I loved the atmosphere, it was a very small company of about 10 people and their passion and energy could be felt in the office everyday.

At MAI Engineering, I gained experience communicating with people on a professional level and developed a proficiency in Excel. I answered phones and relayed messages; provided customer service for a smooth communications operation; worked with MS Excel and PowerPoint to represent data; and was put in charge of small projects. One of those projects was converting field sketches to CAD files.