From student to teacher: giving back to the business school

By Zachary Bokuniewicz '20G

Graduate school can be daunting to consider for just about anyone, especially when you are in the middle of a full-time job. As a graphic designer for a neighboring college, also running a 13-year freelance career, I wanted to expand my skill set into marketing and leadership and be able to design more effectively, to create more successful campaigns. I did my research and took classes at other colleges, but I had trouble finding the proper balance between lecture and application of those topics. Nazareth's Marketing and Leadership Program was exactly what I was looking for. From day one, the professors not only crafted informative lectures but used our assignments and class time to create simulations and activities that modeled realistic scenarios in the marketing world. I was able to complete several marketing campaigns for my portfolio and work with my classmates as if we were a marketing team with a multitude of skills. By the end of the program, I had gained enough knowledge and experience to negotiate a promotion at work and expand my freelance opportunities with more clients.

I would love to be able to write about my favorite experience or the most effective takeaway, but unfortunately, it's not that easy! Each course came with a unique professor, who shed light on a new perspective of the marketing world, and provided challenges that gave me the opportunity to build on my cumulative graduate education and develop a leadership philosophy I could bring into my career. I believe so strongly in the mission of the marketing and leadership program and was so inspired by the professors, that I wanted to continue my journey with Nazareth and become an adjunct professor myself. I will be teaching my first class in the fall, and I am excited to sit on the other side of the classroom and use my own experiences to create challenges and applications for my students that will expand on their skills and move their careers forward.