The American Marketing Association (AMA), an organization which strives to advocate the marketing profession by encouraging excellence from their 250 chapters across the nation, has officially joined the University and AMA communities as of March 2013, thanks to founder Marissa Cusanelli, junior business administration major with a concentration in marketing.
Cusanelli started the process to create an AMA chapter on campus last February after the New Jersey AMA chapter President, Judy Ottenstroer, explained the benefits of being a member in Dr. Michaeline Skiba’s, Associate Professor of Marketing, introduction to marketing class. She said, “It was almost strange to me that we did not have a chapter on campus. The Leon Hess Business School (LHBS) is one of the top business schools in the country, so to have the most popular and trusted marketing associations affiliated with it was a no-brainer.”
Some of the benefits of being a member of the AMA, which requires $47 per year which can be purchased at marketingpower.com, are podcasts, blogs, job and internship postings as well as, networking events and panel discussions with professionals. Cusanelli said, “It is also a great way to distinguish yourself from your peers and it’s a great resume booster.”
Mitchell Pollard, junior business administration major with a concentration in marketing and student member of the AMA New Jersey, said that, in his opinion, the most significant benefit is the ability to be active in the marketing world. “Every profession involves marketing somehow someway, therefore joining the AMA will only help for your future career. In addition, the AMA may lead you to business partners or even a career you never had in mind,” he said.
Some of the plans that the University AMA has in mind are to have at least one speaker from the business field a month visit the chapter and workshops for students to help with interviewing skills, resume writing, and job preparation.
Currently, the University AMA chapter has about 20 members under their advisor, Dr. Joseph Rocereto, Assistant Professor of Marketing. The majority of members are marketing concentrations. However, Cusanelli said that her goal is that by the time she graduates in May 2014, she would like every student who is a marketing concentration or minor to be a member, or even every member of the LHBS. Currently, there are also members who concentrate in finance, business management, and accounting as well. According to Cusanelli, “The great thing about this organization is that every major can get involved because marketing is in every career path.”
Rocereto agrees that he would like to see students from varying majors and concentrations involved in the AMA, particularly students studying public relations, communication, graphic arts and music. However, before this is accomplished, he said that his first goal is to ensure that the University AMA chapter becomes a long-lasting organization in the years to follow. He said, “Beyond this initial goal, we will seek to continuously grow the organization, in terms of number of student members and increased diversity across majors and concentrations, as well as to expand the types of functions sponsored by this organization in efforts to enhance the professional and academic development of Monmouth University students.”
However, before Cusanelli could start an AMA chapter, she first had to wait until the existing Management and Marketing Club on campus had an official inactive status, as it had not been active for about one year. After the status was granted and after three tries of rewriting the AMA constitution, Cusanelli was able to write a constitution that was approved by the Student Government Association (SGA) and the AMA. She also credits Dr. Min Hua Lu, Chair of the Department of Marketing and International Business, Skiba, and John Buzza, specialist professor, with helping her answer questions and organize the chapter.
Pollard said, “I did think of the lack of a marketing organization before the AMA. Because marketing is such a broad field that involves innovation and creativity, a group for marketers is great for the members to use each other for ideas and help create business relationships and opportunities.”
The LHBS is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACBS), which only ten percent of business schools in the world possess. To find out more about joining the AMA, students can contact Cusanelli at s0754274@monmouth.edu.
