BOLD Welcomes Back Spring 21’ Alumna, Maria Duque, on How to Prepare for the Post-Graduation Life
On Tuesday, September 21st, BOLD alumna and past Executive Board member Maria Duque, returned back to the agency giving the utmost insight for post-graduation life. BOLD had the pleasure to hear more about her previous work experiences, her tips & tricks on how to stay afloat after receiving your degree, and her current position at Havas Media.
Maria Duque outlined her initial internship experiences involving the Simons Gallery, RBB Communications, and Pinzur Communications throughout her time as an undergraduate student. In terms of extra-curricular activities, BOLD was fortunate to have Maria climb her way through the ranks and hold various positions that shaped her skills today. She started as a Publicist Intern, to Account Executive, to later holding the Director of Accounts executive position overseeing all supervisor, executive, and associate level work. Other FIU organizations she spent her time with included PantherNow, HerCampus, Alternative Breaks, and Lead Team providing Maria an overall landscape of expertises to soon enter the real world.
Transitioning into her full-time position, Maria Duque stands as an associate at the connections planning department at Havas Media Chicago overseeing media type, budget, and platform selections for prospective clients. Notable clients of hers include Reynolds Consumer Product-Foil, Kitchens, and Hefty Products where she has the opportunity to research trends, manage print media, and track budgets. Thus far, her time at Havas has granted Maria a sense of joy seeing her work on national television and noting “that’s our ad! Someone on our team bought that [media], so it was really exciting”. She overall concluded how she thinks “that a fun thing about being in media, is [how] you can see your work really directly” (Duque).
Maria completed her presentation with BOLD by discussing relevant topics students had in mind about what to consider now and how to prepare yourself for life after college. The guest speaker described how being active and joining organizations related to your major and interests is a great stepping stone. She reflected on the importance of taking a variety of classes in different disciplines to gain experience and form a network, personal brand presence, and an official resume. In terms of making the most of your internship, being open-minded, investing in the relationships with managers and other associates, and capitalizing off of all resources offered, can show just how much of an asset you are to a brand. Members appreciated the encouragement of making a plan and learning what it takes to be well-rounded for a successful post-graduation experience.
Click here to connect with Maria!
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Written by: Carri Medina, Director of Public Relations