Thriving on new marketing challenges

Gulshan Fazal ‘21G first became a nurse to please family members — but realized her real passion is the fast-paced world of strategic marketing. “My family has now changed their mindset after seeing the happiness marketing has brought me and have accepted that health care is not the only answer to a career,” she says.

After completing her master’s at Nazareth in marketing communications leadership, she landed a job as a programmatic specialist at Butler/Till. She’s responsible for developing recommendations to buy, sell, and place ads through a strategic process.

We asked about her path to a career that brings her joy.

What attracted you to marketing?

Throughout college and my career, I had a weekend job as Western New York’s Lancôme’s representative in traditional marketing. The joy it brought to me made me realize that nursing was not for me and that I was meant to be a marketer.

How did your marketing communications leadership degree benefit you?

After trying a few professional routes including working as a nurse for the chief of neurosurgery, I found myself at a standstill, I had the desire to work within marketing but without the experience to pursue it. My MCL degree helped me find what I am most passionate about. I gained the knowledge and perspective of the field with the help of my professors, classmates, and the companies we worked with one on one.

I have a clear memory from our grad program orientation of Dean Rhee telling us that we are going to hate our reflection assignments but will look back and cherish our growth. And he was right, I dreaded reflecting after a long weekend of classes but it was through my reflections that I figured out my strength within marketing. These monthly reflections made me realize that throughout the program I found myself taking on the analytic portion of a majority of projects which led me to the conclusion that I enjoyed the back end portion of Marketing.

At the end of the day the biggest benefit I gained from this program was my confidence, it’s still a work in progress but it was the encouragement I had during this program that helped me land a job at Butler/Till.

What made the program strong?

Before attending Nazareth College I graduated with my bachelor’s degree from a much larger university where I felt lost and forgotten. My grades and drive truly struggled due to this. Whereas at Nazareth, my professors and classmates believed in me, that was the largest factor in what made the program strong.

What do you find invigorating/fulfilling about your work now?

Marketing is always changing in our digital world. There is always something new and exciting happening and with my ADHD, I can tell that I am in a work environment where I will be able to thrive.

Why was a grad degree the right investment for you?

When I was entertaining the idea of going back to school for marketing, the time it takes to invest in a second bachelor’s was not an option for me. When I met with the program director, who walked me through the process and layout of this program, I knew getting my graduate degree worked with my full-time job as a nurse and my eagerness to get started sooner rather than later. Since I do not have a formal background in marketing, jumping into a graduate program took much more time and effort to stay afloat but with the encouragement from my peers and professors I was able to thrive.

Any advice for others who are thinking of switching careers?

I chose my previous career for the acceptance of my family and forgot about my own happiness. My family has now changed their mindset after seeing the happiness marketing has brought me and have accepted that health care is not the only answer to a career.

Switching careers can be nerve-racking, but putting your well-being before others will ensure that the changes you make are for the right reasons.