Melissa Kinckle

Advertising

Senior Director of Marketing Technology & Web, Farmers Insurance

I’ve always been interested in getting a master’s degree. I think as you become more entrenched in your career it gets difficult to consider going back to school and uprooting your life, job and other responsibilities. I heard about this program via the Syracuse University website. I often go online to check out alumni connections and peruse programs to see what’s available. I was thrilled to see that Newhouse was offering an online option. For me, the decision was easy. I’ve always wanted to expand my knowledge in the world of communications and advertising. As a Syracuse University alum, it was a great opportunity to continue my education at my alma mater without having to move back to Syracuse!

The program is very robust and intense. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually had an opportunity to learn something within a collegiate setting. When you are young and in undergrad, you take for granted that great learning opportunities are always right around the corner. As a professional, we have to seek that knowledge— it doesn’t just come to you. The idea that I will get to expand my current skillset and knowledge base through the elements in this program is very exciting. I currently work in technology and e-commerce. This program will help me build upon those skillsets and better serve not only my company, but also my career moving forward.

Advertising. Managing the e-commerce experience for my company has really opened up my eyes to the intricacies of digital advertising and marketing. I’ve been in technology my entire career and had no idea there was such a science behind digital advertising. I think this specialization is important for a technologist working on client facing web experiences. I’ve always been extremely interested in marketing and advertising, so this program made sense for both my current career path and personal goals.

I would love to explore more options within my current organization on the marketing and e-commerce delivery side. The great thing about working for a larger organization is that there are a lot of internal opportunities to leverage new skillsets. Once I finish this program, I plan on capitalizing on that and realigning my focus. My previous work experience was as a management consultant in technology. I’ve covered many aspects of tech from sales to marketing to operations, but never advertising. My ultimate goal is to start my own boutique firm utilizing all of the knowledge I have gained in my career and this program.

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