Congratulations to Sabrina on becoming October’s MVM! MVM is an acronym for Most Valuable Member in WIB. The Publications committee hosts this poll every month to find the most hardworking member. I had the pleasure of interviewing Sabrina to discuss what contributed to her win this month. Everything that Sabrina wants you to know can be found below:
1. Tell me about yourself for those who do not know who you are.
Sabrina is in her first semester of her sophomore year at Baruch. Her major is corporate communications. She originally wanted to pursue marketing, but decided that corporate communications will allow her to interact with people more directly. As a corporate communications major, she has learned to tailor messages according to the audience she is trying to reach. This skill has helped her throughout her various roles in the Marketing committee. She aims to be the president of WIB in the future.
2. Tell me about your journey throughout WIB. How did you come to be the VP of marketing?
When Sabrina was in high school, she knew that she wanted to be more involved in student organizations. She was searching for different clubs to join before beginning her first year at Baruch when she came across WIB’s Instagram profile. She has held four positions in WIB before her role as VP: head of both Instagram and LinkedIn on the Marketing committee as well as the Stats Analyst and Arrivals Coordinator on the Corporate Relations committee. Graciela, last year’s VP of Marketing, saw potential in Sabrina and helped Sabrina realize that she wanted a bigger role in the club.
3. How do you juggle a part-time job, being a full-time student and your position as VP?
Sabrina admits that it is hard to keep up with all three roles, and finding a way to balance them is something she is constantly working on. She strongly believes that it is a matter of staying organized, making a schedule for herself as well as not being afraid to delegate tasks among committee members. Committee members are there to support her and she has learned to trust and rely on them to do certain tasks.
4. When you became VP of Marketing, what were your goals or plans for the committee?
One of Sabrina’s goals was to increase the number of followers WIB has on Instagram to at least 1,000. She also wanted to increase the interaction between the marketing committee and followers on social media. She wants to foster interactive communication by increasing the amount of comments on WIB’s social media platforms. To achieve this, Sabrina created WIB Faces, which is a series of posts that introduce WIB members to followers. In addition, she helped to create Question of the Week which generates many comments. She looks forward to generating and implementing more of her ideas. Sabrina adds that she has pushed her committee members to go out of their comfort zones and, thus, they are less shy to try new things. She is very open to the ideas of others and encourages them to constantly find new ways to improve the committee. Lastly, Sabrina wants her and her committee to work on WIB’s LinkedIn and Twitter presence. She explains that different social media platforms require different approaches because they have different audiences. Messages must always be tailored to the audience.
5. How have you managed to increase the presence of WIB on social media?
Sabrina believes that interactive posts that engage with followers have helped increase presence. She also contributes Marketing’s success to her committee members who are always sharing promotional videos and content with their friends on their personal social media accounts. Sabrina has begun to upload videos directly to Facebook instead of uploading them to YouTube first. She also encourages people at the General Interest Meetings to follow WIB on social media. Most importantly, she believes her team of passionate women has contributed to her committee’s success.
6. How do you motivate your committee members to be involved and interactive?
Sabrina attributes her committee’s high level of involvement to the girls’ attitude towards the club itself. Her committee members know how beneficial being a part of WIB is to them. Their attitude is what motivates them to participate in the club. Sabrina explains that you can only get as much as you put in. Her committee members dedicate time to WIB’s events not just because it is required for induction. Sabrina encourages her members to network and build relationships with other committees.
7. How do you imagine using the skills you have acquired as a WIB member when you graduate?
As a WIB member, Sabrina has learned to be more confident and open to communicating with others. When she attended high school, she was shy and never imagined holding a leadership position. She has learned to be assertive, stand by her ideas and not let opportunities pass her by. Sabrina explains that one crucial lesson she has learned is that it is okay to make mistakes because there are people there to help you. Her communication skills have greatly improved since joining WIB because being a member of marketing requires open lines of communication between different committees. She needs to discuss ideas with other members in order to create the best promotional material for the club’s events. She hopes to use all these skills when she graduates and embarks on her professional career.
8. What advice do you have for a new WIB member?
Sabrina explains that she always tells others to never underestimate their potential because she made the mistake of doing this. She never believed that she could hold a leadership position, which is why she never got involved in clubs during high school. She hopes that others push themselves beyond their comfort zones and limits. Being in WIB has made her realize how much potential she has. She never thought she would be VP, but here she is!
9. Why did you choose to join marketing? What do you enjoy most about your role?
Sabrina says that marketing appealed to her because she is a creative person. Marketing gives her the freedom to express herself and implement her ideas, such as WIB Faces. The beauty of marketing is that it is very flexible and allows her to work with many different people. Her committee is the largest in WIB with 26 members. She has a diverse group of members with different skills. In the marketing committee, Sabrina can learn something new from her members every day. Some members may be great at graphics or video editing, and they share their skills with Sabrina.