Woman smiling.
Alexia Lyons graduated in 2015 with a
BA in Strategic and Corporate Communications
. She now lives in Mar Vista, California, working for advertising agencies, specifically in Internet marketing. We asked her about her job and how her major prepared her.

Tell us about your job.


As a whole, I am responsible for managing over 1.6 million in annual online advertising spend and Paid Search initiatives for various e-commerce and Lead Gen companies. This includes the management of industry/category knowledge, marketing planning, campaign implementation/execution, performance tracking and analysis and various associated projects.

How did Chapman’s SCC major prepare you?


Chapman’s SCC program helped me build a strong foundation in applicable persuasive message design. More importantly, it helped me realize what I wanted in a career. I strongly recommend this major to anyone who is interested in advertising.

What is your advice for students who are graduating now?


Find a job where you are constantly learning, growing and developing your skills. Ask tons of questions. Make friends in other departments and learn what they do, ask them to teach you if they’re willing. Learn from others mistakes. If you can, sit in on other department meetings. Utilize the resources around you. Think of your job as being paid to learn. Trust me it’s goes a long way.

What skills do you think students need to know that they won’t learn from school for your profession?


Perserverance. I was sure I was in over my head when I first started my job at
Wpromote
. I came in so cocky with all my internship and work experience, and boy, was I humbled. I quickly learned that only the strong survive in this industry and agencies will test to see if you sink or swim.

What I didn’t know was that making mistakes wasn’t the worst thing in the world. It’s all about staying determined, learning from your mistakes, and coming out asking the right questions so they never happen again.

Advice:
Prepare yourself to be intimidated, tested, and questioned. Know that it’s probably going to be OK if you mess up.

What makes you great at your job?


My Director said that my determination and willingness to learn were the best things about me, so I would say that.

I’m honored that others think of me as someone who doesn’t give up when it gets tough, or that I ask a million questions. Maybe it’s annoying to others, but I have no shame and hope that I carry these qualities with me for the rest of my life. Numerous people have told me that I ask the questions that people are too scared to ask. That’s cool! If I can find out an answer in 2 seconds vs. 10 minutes of research online, that means I can go home an earlier time. Key takeaway? Be efficient and ask tons of questions.

I was rewarded with a raise and a title change in my first review for these reasons.