Interview by Daniel Yu
The Baylor University International Studies alumni that I decided to interview is Holly Joyner, who currently works at the university as the Associate Director of Global Engagement & Marketing with the Center for Global Engagement. Because she currently works in a Marketing-related position, a field that I want to pursue post-graduation, Joyner was someone I wanted to network with so that I might know the steps to pursuing the field as a fellow IST major.
I asked Joyner 5-6 questions, starting with a multi-part introductory question that allowed me to get to know her on a basic knowledge level (i.e. When did you graduate, what do you do currently, & what do you do for fun). Joyner was part of the Class of 2007, double majored in IST & Asian Studies & is currently residing in Waco. She mentioned that she attended Azusa Pacific University for a master’s in higher education after a few years since recieving her Bachelor’s.
My next few questions for Holly Joyner revolved around if International Studies was her intended major, what she learned from her time at Baylor, & what she wanted to do with her major. Her responses were that she did intend to major something in the political science department & always wanted to work with international students after a few working experiences during college & post-graduation. She learned so much about the various cultures in the world, how different socieities operate, & what it’s like working with international clients/students. Joyner wanted to continue pursuing these social work type of opportunities, thus she went to pursue a Master’s in Higher Education at Azusa Pacific University.
The next questions after that revolved around how she got into Marketing & whether or not she intended to enter that field. Joyner stated that she actually did not intend to go into Marketing, & entering that profession occurred naturally over time. Once she started working at Baylor’s Center of Global Engagement Department, that was when she had Marketing-related duties incorporated into her position. She was already experienced with several graphic design programs & luckily, her co-workers seeked a person who could create graphics for them. Eventually, her occupation recieved a “Marketing” addendum to the title. Even though Joyner didn’t expect her career to slightly pivot in that way, she stated that she still gets to incorporate her experience & knowledge of her familiarity with different cultures/societies into work.
My penultimate question was how I could enter the field of Marketing as someone with a major that more closely alligns with political science. Since Joyner was able to obtain a Marketing position & that we both share the same major, her answer proved especially insightful to me. Joyner emphasised seeking jobs that enabled Marketing-related duties but also focused on building relations with international-adjacent communities or developing social connections with global clients. She highlighted starting out at smaller businesses like non-profit organisations or social work-related workplaces. Furthermore, she also explained that larger & more-strictly financial companies won’t hire fresh IST grads just yet, but building experience will get me there.
My last question was anything she wanted to ask me about myself or what remaining advice she has for me. Joyner concluded the interview by stating how every position has some sort of marketing element whether it would be designing some form of advertisements or relaying information to clients. What it’s important is that I’m able to harness those potential qualities of those jobs & take advantage of them if I really want to enter Marketing. As someone whose college journey took several unexpected detours & is unsure if I’m able to achieve my dream career, interviewing Holly Joyner & hearing what she had to say proved to be incredibly insightful.
