Paige Beaton Coulier G'13
For me, it was the creativity of the student body and alumni. I loved being exposed to a wide range of mindsets from all over the world, which brought a wealth of opinions and experiences to every class discussion. My undergraduate program and previous schooling were both in the US, and I was eager to take an international approach to my further studies and future career. My most enduring memories of AUP are about the people and location. I’ll forever remember roaming Paris with my friends between and after classes, soaking in the international vibe. We would see examples of theory being put into practice in businesses and communities all around us.
My AUP experience helped me find an internship at a small startup. The position allowed me to test out a variety of potential career pathways, including communications, PR, product marketing and brand marketing. I developed a scrappy, international mindset that I try to maintain in my work today. The internship role led to a full-time job, truly kick-starting my career within the marketing and communications space. When it came to finding my next position, I had both a wealth of experience and a much clearer goal in mind. I landed at Intuit, a Fortune 500 company known for software applications such as QuickBooks, TurboTax and Mint, where I have moved through a variety of roles in the brand-marketing and employer-branding spaces. I am currently in a go-to-market role, leading marketing for corporate responsibility. I get to bring my passion for education and the climate into my work on a daily basis, while truly maximizing my use of my marketing and communications skills. I feel incredibly lucky to be using these skills for good, and I hope to continue down this path further into my career.
Work for a company that aligns well with your values. A company’s culture and mission are crucial, both to its success and to the well-being of its employees. As brand builders, we are out in the world every day, helping people know and love our companies. When your work matches your beliefs, not only will you find your job easier, but you will also excel at it – and find yourself pushing the company to be bigger and better too. That belief in your company’s mission should be felt in your core, authentically.
For me, climate change is one of the most important challenges we face today. As brand builders, we play a crucial role in ensuring that our companies are stepping up when it comes to solving the climate crisis. A company’s corporate responsibility efforts are a huge part of its brand reputation. Whether big or small, corporations need to look outside their own walls and start ensuring they have a positive impact on the future of our planet. As brand builders, if we see that our company could be playing a larger role, we can strategically influence change from within, which will, in turn, inspire our customers to do the same, changing the trajectory of the planet on which we live and love.
I was able to ask my course instructors for specific advice, and I found that everyone was thrilled to help me as much as they could.
I find myself intrigued by how technology can be used as a catalyst for change, whether for social justice or to grow and develop communities.
Fashion has always been a passion of mine, but AUP has the perfect program to turn my passion into a career.