Baylor advertising students gain hands-on experience with local nonprofits and businesses

WACO, Texas (KWTX) — Select local nonprofits and businesses get a hand with free marketing solutions and advertising ideas through a hands-on approach in a Baylor marketing and advertising course.

Dr. Tyrha Lindsey-Warren, Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing and Head of the Faculty of Industry Relations and Experiential Learning at Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, oversees the project in which students form marketing agencies. advertising, then take their unpaid clients through an actual agency process, often helping them with marketing issues.

Clients are primarily local businesses and non-profit organizations.

“At Baylor University, experiential learning and bringing businesses into our classrooms has been a part of business school forever, but under our new leadership with Dean Sandeep Mazumder, we are bringing our experiential learning to newer and higher heights,” Dr. Lindsey-Warren mentioned.

Student Gabriella Ciesla is a junior marketing student from Chicago.

She worked last semester on ways to help the Waco Symphony Orchestra and this semester is focusing her efforts on a nonprofit called 100 Club in the Heart of Texas.

“Being part of this collaboration was able to see real organizations and the impact we’ve had on them, especially through marketing and just helping their business grow,” Ciesla said.

Ciesla said the real-world experience in a classroom has been invaluable.

“I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person, as a marketer, and obviously we’re helping the organization grow,” Ciesla said.

The benefits are also felt on the customer side.

Ashley Munn is the founder and owner of Modern Texas Living Magazine and attended a final presentation Monday night at Baylor by college students looking for ways to help her business.

She said she already had plans to put their ideas to use.

“Listening to the students’ final presentations was so inspiring, to see the amount of research they put into their findings and insights.” Munn said. “We are already looking at ways to implement some of their feedback and look forward to the opportunity to work with their class again in the near future.”

If you would like to apply to be part of the class, you can email Dr. Lindsey-Warren at Expert File – Inquiry | Media and Public Relations | Baylor University.

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