Select Page

Returning to Penn State this semester, I feel as though I am coming into my classes with a much different mindset than I have ever had toward my schooling before.  Last semester I took a Leave of Absence to work at Johnson & Johnson for seven months, as part of their Brand Management Co-op Program.  While demanding at times, I could not have asked for a better experience there.  As an aspiring marketer, the opportunity to work on iconic household brands such as Listerine, Neutrogena, Aveeno and Band-Aid was unparalleled.

 

My entire life up until this point has been school, much of which has been adults describing what my future will hold once I’m “out in the real world.” This especially holds true for my business classes.  While business cases may be accurate real-world examples, they can never capture the true essence of the situation at the time, as the pressure and stress piled on by various stakeholders with differing objectives are removed from the equation.  As a student navigating a case study with the end result in mind, hindsight bias was always my best friend.

 

Now having worked under the aforementioned stress, my perspective has evolved quite a bit when studying these same cases. Because I had the chance to work at J&J for an extended period of time, I was able to not only see how decisions were made, but also the result of several decisions that were carried out, but unfortunately did not achieve the desired result.  These were the times when I learned the most, and I luckily had a director who exemplified fantastic leadership in times of disappointment for our team.

 

While I can already see the increased value in my classes as a result of my experience, the only downside to returning from co-op is having to adjust to the idea of constantly reading, memorizing, and studying for tests.  After going to my office every day and completing work that would influence packaging, product launches, television commercials, etc. the idea of putting in so much effort just to obtain a grade is uninspiring.  On the flip side, it’s good to know I have at least one thing to look forward to once my time at Penn State comes to an end and I venture once again out into the “real world.”