The Mendoza College of Business here at the University of Notre Dame is recognized as one of the best undergraduate business programs in the country. Home to teachers at the top of their fields and founded on a commitment to “Developing Business Excellence”, Mendoza graduates have found great success in their post-graduate lives, landing jobs at the top consulting firms, investment banks, and accounting firms. However, some of us chose to take a more unusual route as we began to build our career paths.
Here at Notre Dame, I majored in Marketing and Film, Television, and Theater with a concentration in Television Studies. This combination of majors has greatly distinguished me from many finance and accounting students within Mendoza. Throw in the FTT major, and even within the Marketing major I was considered a more “exceptional” student.
I knew from the beginning of my college and career identification process that ultimately, I wanted to work in marketing within the entertainment industry. Notre Dame offers the fields of study that will equip me with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in such a role, so Notre Dame is the perfect fit for me. However, when I started looking for internship opportunities my sophomore year, I worried that because of my more niche career interests, Notre Dame might not have the same resources or network for me that they might. for a traditional business student. Fortunately, I was quickly proven wrong.In the fall of my sophomore year, I logged into my IrishCompass account (which I like to describe as LinkedIn but specifically the Notre Dame network) with the hope of finding an alumnus working in a position I was interested in. a few hours, I just didn’t connect with an alumna who works at NBCUniversal, but here we are
scheduled a time to meet next week. During our call, the alumna shared an internship opportunity she completed during her time at Notre Dame. At the end of the week, I applied for the same position and was accepted. This time is the intern of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. While there, I was paired with an American film marketing company and worked with them for the duration of the Festival, while still being able to attend Festival screenings myself. To help my ability to complete this internship, I was awarded an internship grant from the Nanovic Institute of European Studies here on campus. When I returned from France, I spent my summer in NYC working as a Digital Marketing intern at Def Jam Recordings, the rap and R&B label within the Universal Music Group. I spend my time collecting data and feedback on artists’ performances and social media presence, launching the Def Jam Discord server, and brainstorming TikTok campaign ideas for new releases.
If you’re like me and you know you don’t want to go to a Big Four accounting firm or become an investment banker, Notre Dame (and Mendoza) is still for you. The Mendoza education and greater Notre Dame education you receive as a student here prepares you to not only enter but thrive in any company or industry you choose to work in, regardless of your major or career. path. Even if it seems like everyone in your Finance 1 class is going to a top consulting firm and you’re alone in your niche career interest, realize you’re not. There are many resources on campus and alumni off campus who want to help you pursue your passions no matter how unique they may be. So, if you want to work at a film festival, or a music label, or anywhere else, do it! Notre Dame will help you get there.
