It is simple to say “four years truly flies by, in the blink of an eye.” Before you know it, graduation is weeks away and you’re forced to make the most from your college career into the, oh so dreaded… “real world.” Okay, so maybe the number of nights you spent out instead of studying may not be the most ideal. But, they sure brought back on so many memories! (Quizo at Landmark…Karaoke at Kildares…Spanky, Sunday’s?) You catch my drift. It is the Saint Joe’s life. Regardless, can you imagine what you will be doing professionally in the next few years? Where will you be living? Will you be single, dating or “wifed up?” Who will you be?
The possibilities are endless.
So, “Where is She Now?” will highlight female alumni, Hawk Woman, from Saint Joseph’s University each week. In reality, we want to know where our alumni are today, who is doing what and the challenges our young, workforce of females are facing each and everyday.
Naomi Venizelos
Graduation Year: Saint Joseph’s University 2012Major: MarketingMinor: CommunicationsCampus Involvement: DSP (Business Fraternity), Club Women’s Basketball, Weekly Service
Where are you employed and what is you position in the organization today?I work at Cigna, a global health service company, where I am a Sales Administration Analyst.
How has an education from SJU helped you in the real-world?SJU definitely prepared me for the real world both through professional aspects such as the co-op program and DSP, and taught me basic life skills (i.e. time management, prioritizing, etc.). However, more importantly, SJU helped shape me personally and helped me grow in order to take on the “real-world”. At SJU I met some of the most influential people (teachers and students combined) who lived out “the Magis” on a daily basis and this really taught me to always strive for the best in everything I do and I will always carry that with me as I venture through the real-world.
What type of internship` experience is related to the job you have today?I participated in SJU’s co-op program and my second internship within the program was at Cigna in marketing communications. That opened the door and created the opportunity for me to interview for a few different full time positions with the company come senior year. However, all of my internships throughout college were completely different than what I’m doing now; I first interned at Philadelphia Insurance Companies in human resources and then was a marketing intern at New Era Tickets/FanOne Digital Marketing my senior year. Though many of my internships were tailored towards marketing and now I’m more on the sales end of things, I think it’s truly about the overall corporate experience you get while interning that’s most important. Networking, interacting with professionals on a daily basis and building relationships in the corporate world is an important skill that my internships helped me develop and a daily aspect of my job as a Sales Administration Analyst at Cigna.
What is the best piece of advice for your first few months of employment?I would say to stay positive/determined and put yourself out there; make new connections both inside and outside of your designated “team”. Most new jobs require a lot of training and it definitely can be overwhelming, but I found an optimistic attitude and drive for success can really shape your first few months within a new company. If you combine that with meeting a lot of new people you’ll be feeling confident and comfortable in no time.
What is the biggest difference going from a full time student to a full time employee?I would probably have to say the free time you have while you’re still in school – you don’t have that when you’re working full time. Also, since I was so involved in college it felt a little strange to just go to work every day and not have practice or meetings or different events to go to at night like I had in college. When you’re working full time you definitely feel busy but it’s a different type of busy than in college. I’ve been trying to find different ways to get involved now both at work and in the community in order to keep busy and meet new people.
What is on top of your bucket list?I really just want to travel, there are just so many places I want to visit and different cultures I want to experience. Right now Italy, Australia and Spain are my top three places on my list.
If you could go back in time, is there anything you would have done differently?I definitely would have taken some time off after graduation to travel. I realized quickly after starting a full time job that having a consecutive few weeks to a month off is going to be in rare form in the future and should have taken advantage of the opportunity/time when it presented itself.
What do you see yourself doing in ten years?This is always a hard question for me to answer but I really am passionate about the sports and entertainment industry and event marketing so I’m hoping I’ll go back down that career path in the future. I also hope to move around a bit, so hopefully I’ll be experiencing life in a new city at that time.
-HCxo Lauren