President of our American Marketing Association, Kellen Bassett is a junior at the University of Hartford who is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in marketing and minor in communications.
Fall 2020 has been an exciting term for Bassett, during which she made the best use of the opportunity to intern with the Construction Institute (CI) in East Hartford. CI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the growth and development of the construction industry. During her internship, she worked on the marketing and communications for their professional education department, which organizes seminars and thinks tanks.
Bassett’s job involved planning and executing promotional activities, writing articles, and a lot of market research. Also, she handled their social media profiles, where she was able to leverage her skills to improve customer engagement and target potential clients. According to Bassett, it was “a very cool experience” since she got to network with many businesses and build a profitable relationship with them. Through this internship, Bassett was able to experience a real-world work environment, which she believes will be beneficial going forward. Bassett says this internship didn’t just help her improve her skill set, but also helped her realize her interest in market analytics. About her time at CI she says, “I believe this experience has helped me meet all my learning objectives. I was able to develop many new skills through my assignments with CI. I was able to leverage my knowledge gained from UHart in a real business setting. It was a wonderful experience and I am glad I had this opportunity.”
Explaining how the Barney School has played a big part in her progress so far, Bassett says, “The curriculum takes you to step by step through all of the necessary skills and experiences you need. Professors are always willing to provide individual assistance and ensure that their students succeed.” She extends her gratitude to her professors, who she believes have had a great impact on her growth. “Dr. Cavazos has been an amazing advisor for AMA as well as a wonderful professor for many of my marketing courses. Professor Lee is my Barney advisor and also taught my Digital Marketing course (MKT 355). That course, specifically, prepared me for my internship,” she says. As for future plans, Bassett wants to work in the media industry to gain knowledge and perspective, which she eventually would like to leverage toward opening her own business.
Kellen Bassett ’22, Marketing major with a communication minorBarney curricula and the UHart atmosphere are the best combinations. The business school is designed to lead its students to success. UHart in general provides a fun, safe, and comfortable environment. All of the professors care about their students and the campus has a very welcoming vibe.