Hi, everyone! Before we jump into things, I’d just like to
take the time to introduce myself. My name is John Mattison, and I am the marketing
intern for Blugold Dining.
Marketing Intern for Blugold Dining? What does that even
mean? What do you do? Do you cook the food? Are you a cashier? Oh, I bet you
clean the tables and take out the trash at the end of the day, don’t ya?
Not quite.
Now that we’re all back to school, let’s take a quiz. If you
get the answer correct, you win yourself a pat on the back. The best kind of
prize there is.
What does John do as a marketing intern for Blugold Dining?
B) Host & work at
events around campus
C) Work alongside the
Campus Harvest group
D) Brainstorm promotional
ideas with the Blugold Dining marketing team
E) All of the above
If you chose option E, you’re the best. Seriously, you are.
You’re a Blugold.
Now that you know what I do as an intern, let me tell you
more about myself.
I’m a fifth year senior at the university majoring in
marketing and public relations.
I was born in Rochester, Minnesota and came to Eau Claire
wanting to become a Physical Therapist. I started out majoring in Kinesiology.
Soon after I completed my first anatomy class, I realized it wasn’t for me. I
did my research, talked to multiple advisers and figured out I wanted to major
in communications. So, at the beginning of sophomore year, I declared my major
as Integrated Strategic Communication-Public Relations. That’s a mouthful.
By the end of sophomore year, a light bulb sparked in my
brain as I found out I’m super interested in the business side of things. I
have always been competitive and sports-minded as I played basketball all the
way through my freshman year here at Eau Claire. That being said, I wanted to
bring that competitive edge to the business world, specifically marketing.
If you see a trend within the way my college career is
going, you’re right. A lot of change has occurred. I declared my second major
as marketing at the end of sophomore year. I went from Physical Therapy to
Public Relations to adding Marketing to my degree audit in the span of under
three years.
Cool.
As I approached my junior year, I knew what industry I
wanted to have a career in. For most of my friends, they had it set in stone
what they wanted to do when they arrived on their first day of college. Things
weren’t as easy deciding for me. Being someone who changes his mind so often, I was extremely satisfied finally knowing I was on the correct path.
Skip ahead to this year – my fifth and final year. Yes, I
know, you’re probably thinking, “Oh, you’re a fifth-year senior? Just get out
of here already.” Or maybe you’re thinking, “Wow, a fifth-year senior? I bet
you’re like super smart and stuff!”
I’ll take the second one.
Anyways…
I’m going into my last full year at UW-Eau Claire. Let me
tell you what I did this summer since I know you’re all dying to hear. As every
college student knows, or at least should know, internships and work experience
are important when applying for jobs. I’ve been blessed to have three
internships in my time at college. This summer I had the life-changing opportunity
to intern with USA TODAY in its Creative Strategy and Marketing department. I should also
mention that it was located in New York City.
I’ll talk about internships and their value another time
because there is so much to tell you about and what I learned. I just wanted to
use this post to introduce myself, tell you some basics of what I do for
Blugold Dining and hopefully bring you some value or escapism from studying.
I graduate this spring, so I will be passing off the intern torch before graduation. So, if you are interested in possibly taking my place next year, I would love to chat with you.
If you have any questions regarding Blugold Dining, meal
plans, or just want to talk about life, shoot me an email at
mattisjm@uwec.edu.
I’m looking forward to interacting with you this year! If
you have any recommendations about anything - I mean anything - let me know!
Make sure you follow
UWEC Dining on Instagram for cool tips, prizes, giveaways, etc.
Cheers to an awesome year!