by M. C. Jennings | Aug 14, 2019 | Alumni Spotlight, Careers In..., Marketing, Uncategorized
Kelly Lytle
Kelly Jeanne Lytle (’12) is flying high these days. Graduating with a B.B.A. degree in marketing from ACU and a M.B.A. from the University of North Texas, Kelly is using her marketing talents and customer service experience to bring extraordinary customer service at the next level at her position with American Airlines as a Senior Analyst for their Premium Guest Services. Customer service runs in the family. Kelly is the daughter of former Dean and Professor of Marketing, Dr. Rick Lytle and his wife, Jeanne. Dr. Lytle is known for his expertise in the area.
After graduating from ACU, Kelly worked as a Wilberforce Intern with Grace Nelson in Washington, D.C., as an Associate Marketing Manager at Walmart in Bentonville, Arkansas, and then as a Business Development and Loyalty Program Account Manager at American Airlines in DFW. All of these experiences have helped shape her work ethic, her ideas, and her faith.
Kelly’s faith in the workplace is important to her. She says that she strives to use faith as the lens that she views all of her decisions, interactions, and the words with which she speaks. She says, “It is the hope I cling to and the rock I stand on. I know that sounds cliché, but in this environment with a politically charged climate, I have to remember who has the final say and who I am ultimately accountable to.”
Young alums often acknowledge the stark difference in their working environment vs. the environment at ACU. Kelly’s experience has been no different. “Leaving the world of ‘hugs and smiles’ at ACU is vastly different in the workplace. You begin to transition to handshakes and learning how to work without constant compliments and reassurance. However, you bring that mentality into your interactions in a professional way and learn that at the end of the day everyone has a story and is human. Give grace to those around you because you don’t know what they may be going through.”
Kelly hosts ACU AMA students
We asked her if she felt she had faced any challenges as a young female in the workplace and if so, what advice she has for other young alums who will likely experience many of the same issues. Kelly said that working with other females has been the most challenging. “I would encourage everyone to stay out of workplace drama. If they are talking to you about others, they are talking to others about you. Try to use your words to build others up, use your time at work to get your tasks done with excellence, assume the best of each other, and don’t rely too heavily on affirmation from your boss or other female leaders. Make sure and keep a healthy line between personal and professional conversation until you feel like that relationship welcomes it and is a trusted confidant.”
Kelly’s time at ACU helped shape the person that she is today. “I wouldn’t trade my time at ACU for anything. Business professors like Dr. Lytle, Dr. Pope, Dr. Phillips, Ms. Brister, and many others taught me that the marketplace is our mission field as business professionals. It is easy to think that because you aren’t a missionary, a pastor, a youth minister, etc., that you do not have a direct impact on the kingdom, but that’s wrong! We have the opportunity to be an influence to everyone we come into contact with that may not go to church. In the gospel of Matthew, we can see Jesus teaching in towns, synagogues, houses, grain fields, boats, and temple courts to name a few. All that to say, I realized at ACU that the marketplace is my mission field and to be excited about the work/people that God can touch through me! What a cool thing!”
Some of Kelly’s favorite ACU memories revolve around being a member of Sigma Theta Chi, participating in Homecoming, playing in rivalry intramural games, and pledging. When asked who her favorite ACU professor was, the answer should not surprise anyone that knows her. “I have to say Dr. Lytle was my favorite professor….I am a little biased ! I was very nervous to have my Dad as the Dean and try to impress all his friends (all my business professors), but I am so thankful I did. I want to be like my Dad when I grow up; making the work environment fun, developing strategy for hard to solve problems, being able to craft a vision for the future, and making his personal interactions count. Like my Dad, I want to leave people feeling special after they talk with me, bringing energy into the room, having an easy laughter that’s contagious, and ultimately seeking God in everything – in the good times and bad. Obviously, I could go on and on, but this man has changed me for eternity and I am so blessed to have learned from him at ACU and every day.”
Kelly advises current students to, “Listen to your professors and ask them questions. They literally have dedicated their life to teach you, so they care a lot and want to help! At ACU, it is super unique in the fact that they want to invest in you, so invite them to your intramural games, go eat at their homes, and sit with them in chapel. I would also encourage you to learn more about how to read through legal contracts and write creative briefs; ask your professors about this and they would be happy to help you. Lastly, for interviews, dress business professional and arrive early; set up a practice run with your professors or Tim Johnston or the Career Center for free coaching.”
She advises incoming freshmen to, “Have fun, buckle up, and cling to friends that seek God in public and private (they may be your best friends for life). Be thankful to whoever is paying for your education or has granted you scholarships. Get involved. Get sleep. Dig deep into Jesus Christ and the opportunities in front of you to learn about him (chapel, bible class, World’s Backyard, Meals on Wheels, etc.).”
Kelly also advises students to use at least one summer for a professional internship and one to spend time in something that creates memories, helps you grow, and that you enjoy. “I was able to work at T Bar M Summer Camps for one summer and then PFSweb for the second summer. Also, study abroad and go to Leadership Summit! I dare you. You won’t be disappointed if your heart is in the right place.”
*The comments mentioned in this blog reflect the beliefs of the interviewee and not those of the company.
by M. C. Jennings | Aug 9, 2019 | Academics, AMA, Careers In..., COBA Staff, Current Students, Marketing, Uncategorized
Written by junior marketing and art major, Isabella Maradiaga
With over 30,000 members, the American Marketing Association (AMA) is “the essential community for marketers” that offers national conferences, events, and professional training. As marketing continues to play an integral role in the business world, the demand for a similar community has grown in educational institutions. For this reason, AMA now has 390 college chapters and 14,000 student members across North America. Students are joined in collegiate chapters by faculty and staff who share their passion to grow in their field. ACU’s College of Business Administration wishes for students to have the same opportunity to be a part of this association and has officially re-joined this professional association with our own student chapter.
Reagan Morgan (’08), Director of Marketing for PFSweb, discusses marketing and customer service with AMA members
Marketing majors have been looking for real-world experience in their field and the American Marketing Association (AMA) chapter is back on campus, looking to provide opportunities for students to learn and grow. A few years ago, this student organization was very popular for organizing events like branding workshops and working along with faculty to develop marketing plans for the annual AMA International Collegiate Conference where students traveled to join over 1,700 marketers in New Orleans. At this competition, students presented their marketing plans on a case study determined by AMA to compete with other universities. AMA also provided students with the opportunity to have hands-on experiences, participate in networking events, and meet professionals in their field. Last spring, the newly formed AMA officer team hit the ground running to launch the return of this organization. In April, a group of five students led by AMA sponsor and Enrollment & Student Development Manager, Lindsay Palmer, went on a field trip to visit companies PFSweb, LiveArea, and American Airlines. In visiting these organizations, students had the opportunity to learn about the internal procedures that lead to successful marketing decisions and to meet with ACU alumni who are currently serving marketing roles in these companies. Because of the time volunteered by our alums, our students were able to learn about different areas in their field, such as: digital channels, customer loyalty programs, global marketing, channel strategy and customer service.
AMA members meet with Kelly Lytle (’12), Senior Analyst for American Airlines Premium Guest Services
At their visit to the American Airlines office, students were briefed on all of the different loyalty and customer service programs that American Airlines offers as well as having the opportunity to visit the Admiral’s Club, where they were able to observe the importance of the smallest marketing decisions, including things like partnerships with hand soap and printer brands, and how those decisions impact the customer experience.
After such a significant networking and learning experience, AMA’s officer team is working on a plan to provide similar opportunities to all of its members. This student organization wants to encourage students from every major to consider the chance to set themselves apart in the marketplace, gain some digital marketing skills, and enjoy networking events with business professionals. AMA’s President, Kaman Turner, says, “Everyone should be a part of AMA, especially marketing majors. The vast network and real life experiences AMA provides is THE place for young professionals to grow and build their own brand; while also working with others to impact the community and make a difference right now.”
Make sure you check out the ACU student chapter for AMA this fall and start gaining some real-world experience! For questions, contact Lindsay Palmer at lindsay.palmer@acu.edu.
by Hanna Roberts | Oct 18, 2018 | Careers In..., COBA Events, Current Students, Uncategorized
Students speak with Jeff Campbell of Southwest Airlines.
You may have heard it said before, but ACU’s College of Business Administration is not your typical business and technology school. Our mission is to educate business and technology students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. We do this by providing exceptional academics, fostering spiritual growth, and providing students with unique opportunities to interact with professionals during their time here. We work hard to give students exposure to a variety of different businesses that lead to internships and entry0lvel career opportunities.
In October, ten different companies came to campus to speak in classes and lunches, participate in networking events and career fairs, and host on-campus interviews for jobs and internships. Southwest Airlines, Brazen Animation, USAA, Faithlife, KPMG, and PWC are just a few of the companies that come to network and recruit our students through these events. Anna ter Kuile, a senior computer science major from Nashville, Tennessee attended a networking lunch with USAA in the fall of 2017. She had the
David Mitchell from Faithlife Corporation speaks to a class.
opportunity to meet and connect with employees at USAA and ended up receiving an internship as a software developer and integrator in the summer of 2018. ter Kuilereceived another internship offer from USAA at the end of the summer and plans to work for them again in 2019. “The personal connections I made at the information lunch on campus were invaluable in the hiring and application process,” said ter Kuile. “It gave me an edge over other applicants and I was able to really see the culture of USAA through that event, which made me want to work there even more. Attending that event opened doors for me that I did not know were there and helped me build a foundation for my future career.”
Employees from USAA speak with students at a networking luncheon.
Attending events like these has a wide variety of benefits for students. The most obvious benefit is the potential of internships and jobs that influence careers. These opportunities allow ACU students to get a foot in the door with companies that have competitive hiring. Another benefit is developing the discipline and networking skills necessary in the professional world. Students can practice professional development by not only signing up for the events, where they will network and learn about the professional world, but by being committed, disciplined, and following through by showing up to that event. They can also practice conversation skills and make meaningful contacts with companies.
Employees from Brazen Animation speak in a class.
In order to take advantage of these incredible opportunities and events, we advise that students take the time to read their newsletter. Once a week, COBA & SITC send out a newsletter through email that contains everything the student needs to know – special announcements, event promotions, chapel information, giveaways, and more – for the following week. In less than a minute, students can scroll through and see what is going on in the college and sign up for anything they might be interested in. We also promote events on our blog and social media, and monitoring those also helps students to take advantage of special opportunities in our college.
As a student at ACU’s College of Business Administration, we hope you will take advantage of the many professional development resources that are available to you. Be sure to read your newsletter and follow us on social media to stay up to date with the latest in COBA.
by Hanna Roberts | Jul 17, 2018 | Academics, Careers In..., Current Students, Student Spotlights, Uncategorized
Ever since she was a little girl, Sloan Polvado has had an obsession with fashion – specifically, shoes. Sloan has always wanted to work in the fashion industry and this summer has had the opportunity to fulfill that dream.
Sloan, a junior marketing major from Sugar Land, is interning with Steve Madden in New York City in the production department. She aids in preparing the production schedules, helping set up timetables that allocate Steve Madden resources to manufacture and sell their shoes. Sometimes, Sloan will get to try on the new designs and give the design team feedback on them and recommendations for adjustments.
Sloan has loved getting to learn more about the fashion industry. “It has been awesome to see all of the work that goes into creating a shoe – the different materials and styles as well as the numbers and math – and taking it from design to a store,” says Sloan.
The Steve Madden internship program itself has also taught Sloan a lot. “Knowing that I will be contending with talented and driven people like the other interns in this program for a job after graduation has taught me that I have to do everything I can to make myself as competitive as possible,” she noted. Of the thirty summer interns, Sloan is the only one from the south and has found it interesting to compare ACU and her college experience with the other interns. The program has helped Sloan realize how competitive it can be in the professional world and the work that goes into distinguishing yourself when looking for internships and jobs. Outside of gaining practical experience, she has loved connecting with the people around her. She has also had the opportunity to meet Steve Madden himself, who loves getting to know and interacting with his interns. “Steve is a really fun and approachable guy,” according to Sloan. “He will always look at your shoes before making eye contact with you.”
She is excited to return to Abilene with new knowledge and a new motivation to prepare for a job after graduation. “I have learned so much valuable information about the fashion industry, what it is like to work in a major company, and networking connections with those around her – oh, and the free shoes aren’t too bad either.”
by M. C. Jennings | Sep 6, 2017 | Academics, Careers In..., COBA Staff, Current Students, MAcc, Outcomes, Placement stories, Uncategorized
Aimee Agee is COBA’s Professional Development Manager for Business and Technology students. She works continuously with students to equip them with the skills and knowledge to successfully launch into the professional world. This includes meeting one-on-one with students to discuss their job and internship opportunities and outcomes, connecting them with employers who fit their skills and needs, and analyzing data on each student graduating while remaining in contact with them in their post-grad life. Aimee also conducts class insertions where she discusses specific careers with employers as well as more general information about interviews, resumes, networking, and more. Agee supplied the coaching and leadership needed to help COBA’s business and technology students improve their outcomes this year. Her hard work and excellence in developing and communicating with students has impacted COBA graduates’ academic and professional careers positively.
Aimee Agee
We are pleased to announce that the B.B.A. programs’ overall outcomes have moved beyond our stated goal of 90%. 93% of our May graduating class received either a job offer or an acceptance into a graduate program within ninety days of graduation. Achieving this rate gives us a past-four-year average of 90.18 %. The average starting salary for our B.B.A. students was $41,497. The School of Information and Technology had a very strong bump in employment, especially from Digital Entertainment Technology graduates. SITC had a 100% outcome rate of students with a job offer or acceptance to a graduate program. This includes their international students and again exceeds the target of 90%. The average starting salary for SITC graduates was $57,600. COBA saw 100% of the students in the Master of Accountancy program employed within ninety days of graduation. The average starting salary for MAcc graduates was $55,000.
Learn more about COBA’s Professional Development Program for current students and alumni at the links listed or by going to www.acu.edu/coba.
by M. C. Jennings | Aug 2, 2017 | Academics, Careers In..., Current Students, Student Spotlights, Student Spotlights, Uncategorized
Brandon Gonzales is a senior Accounting major from Rowlett, Texas. He is interning with Concho Resources this summer.
Brandon Gonzales
Q: What have you done in your internship so far?
I am currently interning at Concho Resources which is an oil and gas E&P company based in Midland, Texas. As an accounting intern, I was placed in the revenue department where I was assigned a summer project that I worked on throughout the internship. My project was to perform a self-audit of the severance taxes for oil and gas that Concho paid for its New Mexico wells. If you intern at Concho, you will be assigned a major project associated with the department you are placed in at the start of the summer. At the conclusion of the internship, you will lead a presentation over the results of your project to the upper-management of the company. Due to its importance, my first month of the summer was solely dedicated to working closely with my mentor on this project. This is because each project is over an issue that Concho has an interest in and a majority of the work done by the interns are put to use by the company. For example, the workbook that I created for my project can be directly adapted for future use by the revenue department in performing audits for years outside of the scope I was assigned. After the first month, I was rotated for the remainder of the summer among other departments and groups so I could get more exposure to accounting in the company. I moved to another floor and started working alongside the Director of Accounting and a senior accountant where I helped analyze reserve reports that we received over our properties. My main job on that project was to identify and represent key information that they wanted to review in a future meeting. I created a number of pivot tables and other charts compiled from the data in reports. After a few days, I was moved once again and began working in the Joint-Interest Billing department. There I performed another audit, but this time it was over joint operating agreements that we had from previous years. I was tasked with researching each agreement to determine if we were correctly paying what the contract stated by comparing what we had in our records. Currently, I am still in the JIB department, but am now working with another group to review unbilled properties and the accompanying invoices to determine if they are correctly billed in the revenue system we use.
Q: What has been your favorite part of the internship?
My favorite part of the internship so far must be how involved Concho is in making sure the intern class is enjoying the summer in Midland. They want to be sure that we come away from this internship with positive memories of not only the company, but the city as well. There were multiple events throughout the summer that Concho orchestrated for the interns to get together and everything was always paid for by the company. From minor league baseball games in the company’s private box suite to golfing at the country club. They even sent us to Midland’s Petroleum Museum for a day of training so the interns could get a better sense of the oil and gas industry. The coolest event being a field trip out to one of the oil rigs where we received a personal tour from one of the supervisors. Concho also provided summer housing for the interns which really helped in bringing everyone together since we all literally lived doors down from each other. Even when there was not a company sponsored event, the interns usually had something planned like a cookout at the apartment pool.
Q: How do you see this experience aiding you in the future?
Going into this internship, I knew nothing about the oil and gas industry including how accounting was done for E&P companies. However, I was never given any busy work this summer. All the projects I worked on were assignments that would be given to the regular staff and provided an actual benefit to the company. Being treated as another new-hire was worthwhile and the knowledge that I gained can easily be leveraged in the future if I decide to pursue a career in the industry. Getting to know the people I worked with was one of the biggest benefits that I gained from this internship. I’ve built relationships with multiple people over the summer who gave me guidance not only in my career, but life as well. In particular, one coworker welcomed me into her church and got me connected with the youth group she ran. Even if I never work at Concho or in the oil and gas industry, building relationships with more experienced people in the field was a great experience.
Q: What has grown you as an individual the most in this internship?
I’ve always been the type of person who likes to figure out solutions to problems I come across on my own. With this internship, I had to learn to be more proactive in asking for assistance from not only those who I worked directly with, but others within the company. I knew almost nothing whenever I started a new project and at times that was daunting. Repeatedly needing to ask for further explanations was something that I was uncomfortable with because I didn’t want to be a bother. Over time, I came to realize that being given more responsibilities didn’t mean that I had to bear everything alone. Looking around the office, I noticed that it was common to see people collaborating on their work. Although people had separate responsibilities, we were all part of the same team. This environment helped me get used to working as a part of a larger team and not be afraid to ask for further clarification on what I was doing. People welcomed questions because they wanted to make sure I understood not only how something was done, but the why as well.
Q: Do you have any tips for others?
Audit or Tax? Big 4 or mid-tier firm? These are common questions that accounting majors come across at some point in undergrad. Some students find their own answer within weeks, while others are unsure up until graduation. However, when it comes to starting their career, I think that many accounting students are too quick to dismiss starting out their career in an industry role. Going into public accounting straight out of college is seen as the traditional route with securing a great job in industry after years of experience as the end goal. I think this is due in large part to the fact that many of the companies that recruit on campus are public firms. There is little exposure to any other option before graduation. This summer, many of the staff that I worked alongside did do not come from public backgrounds and I was curious as to why. I received various answers, but the most common was that the long-term goals they had for themselves were perfectly attainable without going into public accounting. The main takeaway being that both routes have their pros and cons so it is up to the individual to decide which path is best for them. I would encourage younger students to equally give both options their attention as they go through college. Choosing to dismiss one side without the proper due diligence is simply closing off a number of future opportunities.
