The YMCrew continues to grow, and we wanted to make sure you got to meet our fantastic team members. Located all across the United States, our team has truly wonderful people from coast to coast. Let’s meet Naeilah Odom.
Introduce yourself! Who are you, and what do you do at YMC?
Hi guys, my name is Naeilah. I am a Program Strategist here at YMC!
How long have you been at YMC?
I have been at YMC for two months! I started my journey with the team in March 2022.
What programs have you worked on during your time at YMC?
I am currently on the Samsung College Program for the Fall 2022 Semester!
What school did you attend?
I attended San Diego State University and enjoyed every minute with palm trees in my sight.
How do you like spending your free time?
I love spending my free time relaxing or being creative in any way. I enjoy exploring new restaurants, activities, or anything that expands beyond what I have done in the past.
What experience have you had that set you up for success in your career?
My experience as a cheerleader has allowed me to gain social skills in interacting and communicating with others. My past professional experience in Public Relations has enabled me to understand the true meaning and importance of brand presence which transfers into my current role!
Any tips for aspiring #YMCrew members?
My tip for aspiring #YMCrew members would be to always think outside the box.
What about you might surprise people?
One thing that might surprise people is that I have a lot of introverted tendencies, although I can appear very extroverted at first glance.
The YMCrew continues to grow, and we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to meet our fantastic team members. Thanks to our permanent remote work structure, our wonderful team of talented individuals is based all across the country. Today, let’s meet Delaney Mills!
Introduce yourself! Who are you, and what do you do at YMC?
Hi, I’m Delaney. I’m a Program Strategist at YMC.
How long have you been at YMC?
I have been at YMC for almost two months now. I started in March 2022.
What programs have you worked on during your time at YMC?
I’m currently working on the Samsung College Program for the Fall semester.
What school did you attend?
I graduated from Temple University in May 2021. I loved it so much and hope to move back to Philadelphia one day!
How do you like spending your free time?
I love spending my free time just unwinding from the week. Usually, on the weekends, I’m just driving around, listening to Taylor Swift, going shopping, and eating good food!
What experiences in your life have set you up for success in your career?
The experience that I will always be the most appreciative of is my time as President at Her Campus at Temple. Through that experience, I learned how to build genuine connections with my peers, which has helped a lot in recruiting at YMC!
Any tips for aspiring #YMCrew members?
The best advice I would give to anyone is to be a good person and love what you do. If you go into experiences with a good attitude, good things will come back to you!
What about you might surprise people?
I’m pretty introverted. You might not get that just from speaking to me because I’m outgoing when I’m around people, but I love my alone time!
6 Skills You’ll Master as a Student Brand Ambassador
Being a student brand ambassador isn’t always a simple task—especially when you’re going to class, studying for midterms, working a part time job, and trying to see your friends! Although it seems challenging, being a brand ambassador can be an incredibly rewarding experience that helps you develop the skills needed to enter the workforce. Here are six skills you’ll master:
1. Communicating remotely
Brands hire student brand ambassadors from all across the country, and because of this, you typically communicate with your supervisor via phone, text, email, and social media. A lot can be lost in translation when you’re unable to see someone face-to-face. As a result, you’ll be challenged to learn how to refine your remote communication skills, which is becoming an increasingly more important aspect of work in our digital age.
2. Working within teams
You don’t work in a vacuum, and in most careers, you never will. Typically, student brand ambassadors work in groups of two to four. The success of the program on your campus depends on your ability to collaborate effectively within your team. Learning how to work with others is a vital skill that you’ll develop and perfect over time. Because of this, the data shows us that student brand ambassadors have a leg up on the competition as they enter the workforce. After all, the key to being a successful student brand ambassador is clear and continuous teamwork.
3. Being responsible and deadline-focused
Being a student brand ambassador can be a really fun and rewarding opportunity, but at the end of the day, it is a job. The program’s completion and success is on you and your team. Brands invest a lot of time and money into selecting, training, and trusting student brand ambassadors to complete tactics when they themselves cannot be present. If an event doesn’t happen, the opportunity is lost, money is wasted, and the brand cannot meet their goals. As previously mentioned, your supervisor is typically not in your same city, so the responsibility is in your hands. Learning how to work on your own schedule and still meet deadlines is a critical skill.
4. Representing a brand or company
As a student brand ambassador, you become the face of your brand on-campus. Beyond having to know everything about their service and/or product offerings, you’ll be communicating their brand messaging everyday. What’s their story? What makes them unique? And why should students care? You’ll learn how to share key messages through both verbal and visual techniques—from talking about products and services, and demonstrating their value, to looking the part through what you wear and how you present yourself. For example, if you’re representing Apple but using a PC, people won’t believe that you’re a true advocate for the brand—they’ll assume you’re just doing it to get paid. Learning that sometimes it not what you say, but how you present it, is a valuable lesson.
5. Telling a brand’s story on social media
As a Millennial, you might already think you know everything there is to know about social media. You have 10,000 Facebook friends, 1,500 Instagram followers, 500 friends on Snapchat, and even 1,000 Twitter followers—that’s awesome! But do you know how to utilize these followers to build a brand? As a student brand ambassador, one of your weekly responsibilities is to create on-brand and engaging content. You’ll develop an understanding of which posts resonate with the followers and which posts fall short. If you do an exemplary job, you may even get featured on the brand’s social media channels! So, how do you shift from telling YOUR story on social media, to telling the unique story and sharing the unique voice of the brand you represent? As a student brand ambassador, you’ll learn what it truly means to use social media to represent a brand and their key messages.
6. Planning an event
Student brand ambassadors complete on-campus tactics. In other words, you’ll be helping plan and execute events. While it may not be your life’s ambition to be an event planner, you’ll learn how to work with vendors (ordering supplies) and negotiate deals (reserving a venue). Lastly, you’ll learn how to “read a room”—making sure event attendees are having a good time and engaging with the brand. This experience is an important one; teaching you how to approach and interact with new and diverse people.
Being a student brand ambassador is an incredible opportunity to gain valuable and applicable work experience, while allowing you the freedom and responsibility to develop your skillsets across multiple fields. Plus, you usually get paid and are given free product! Win-win!
Interested in becoming a student brand ambassador with YMC?
We constantly have opportunities arising throughout the school year, to be considered, please create a profile on The Hub and check back often! Also, make sure to follow us on Instagram to see with what’s happening on-campus with our brands.
