Prior to graduation, senior Ninamarie Ayala, has secured a full-time position at Travelers in their Business Intelligence and Geo-spatial Development Program (BIGDP). She is majoring in Marketing at the Barney School of Business.
Ninamarie had the honor of speaking as a scholarship recipient at the second annual Finance, Insurance, Risk Management, and Manufacturing (F.I.R.M.) Executive Leadership of the Year Award Dinner. At the dinner, she met and spoke with the VP of Operations and the VP of Data Analytics at Travelers, where they discussed potential job opportunities for her.
None of this would have been possible before Ninamarie’s experience at the Barney School. She says, “The Barney school really helped me feel confident, competent and connected when navigating the corporate world. Specifically, classes such as BAR111 and BAR211 taught me the soft skills and technical skills I needed to succeed.”
During her time as a Marketing major, Ninamarie completed two summer internships with Aetna in their marketing department following her sophomore and junior years. Additionally, she participated in the American Marketing Association’s’ Collegiate Case competition, where she developed a case study that aimed to solve business challenges for sponsoring organizations.
In Ninamarie’s case, The Wall Street Journal wanted to expand into a new target market. They wanted to reach millennial and generation Z audiences instead of just business students and professionals. She worked with AMA University of Hartford Chapter to submit a own case and contribute to the Competitive Landscape and Analysis report. It was a novel experience for an undergraduate marketing student.
About her time at UHart, Ninamarie says, “My experience at UHart was amazing. I was able to have fun and make friends my freshman year; but throughout my college career I was able to grow in my maturity and skills. I was given job opportunities, leadership roles and most importantly, relationships that I will have and cherish for life.”
One of her favorite things about the University of Hartford is the emphasis on inclusion, engagement and extracurricular clubs. She would tell incoming students to take advantage of every opportunity that college and specifically, the University of Hartford, has to offer!
Ninamarie Ayala,The Barney school really helped me feel confident, competent and connected when navigating the corporate world. Specifically, classes such as BAR111 and BAR211 taught me the soft skills and technical skills I needed to succeed.”