Jennifer Kerch, Cdmp, Pcm Email & Phone Number

Being a product of the 1990s, I spent a portion of my life, mainly my childhood and beginning of my adolescence, in a world that was more or less completely void of all things digital. As I grew up, the concept of the internet developed and eventually became more than just a phenomenon; it became the way of life. After I graduated high school, I found myself captivated by the field of marketing. Although I fell in love with an alma mater that did not offer a specific degree in this field, I had the chance both inside and outside the classroom to dive into the world of studying, brainstorming, and creating marketing campaigns. It was not until I received my undergraduate degree and started putting this knowledge to use in my career that I truly recognized the tangible ways marketing can be used in the real world. As an undergraduate, I had the opportunity to become one of two marketing co-chairs for the college’s student programming board. Through this organization, I discovered my passion for marketing. During my four years at my alma mater, social media marketing was quickly becoming the most effective platform to reach students on campus and I chose to implement advertising strategies that focused largely on those platforms (i.e.: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat). After graduation, I landed my first job as the Student Event Specialist at Rock Valley College, a community college in Rockford with a broad range of students. With an only four-person department, it was here that I had the unique chance to not only plan the college-wide events for the students, I also developed the marketing plans, designed, and created all of the marketing materials for said events. It was not until I settled into my current job, a Marketing Specialist at local community bank, that I really started to put undergraduate experience to the test. In my position, I am a part of the team that is responsible for the development of the internal and external marketing for all six offices of the bank. Creating effective marketing campaigns rely on a variety of factors and with the array of platforms one can choose to advertise on, being well-versed in current trends is vital.In my late twenties, I am learning to lean into my passion and while I do not know for sure where my career will take me in five years or in ten or if I will continue in the bank marketing industry, what I do know is that I am truly captivated by the art of marketing.