1. While writing your paper, what did you learn about the research process?

While writing my paper I learned many different components about the research process.

One of these components is that even though a topic may seem simple, most of the time there is a

lot of information to consider. Marketing is a great example of this. Some think that marketing is

just getting someone's product out to the consumers but in reality it has a lot of very

important/technical steps that have to be completed before the product can be properly

advertised. I also learned how to use in text citation throughout my paper and not just leave it at a

works cited page.

2. How was the research related to your mentor hours?

My research was related to my mentor hours because I traveled up to Noblesville, Indiana

and worked with a marketing firm on some of their active projects. In my research paper I talked

about all the different kinds of marketing and how they affect the consumer in different ways.

Since I worked hands on with an actual marketing team, I was exposed to all the different types

at least once. Another thing I included in my research paper was the different jobs in a marketing

team. During my trip to Indiana, I mostly worked in the office with my mentor but for one of the

days I was able to work in their warehouse and help put graphics on the trucks and help out put

the display together.

3. Summarize the mentor hours that you completed.

2 Hours- My mentor and his marketing team came down to Charlotte, North Carolina to check

up on a project they were doing with Boxman Studios. During this time I sat in on a meeting and

got to walk around their warehouse and learn about a up and coming form of marketing using

shipping containers.
10 Hours- I traveled up to Noblesville, Indiana for a week and got to work hand in hand with my

mentor and his marketing team. I was able to sit in on a press conference and help out organizing

everything to ensure the Boxman project ran smoothly. During this time I also got to see past

projects that PMG completed and heard about some that were possibilities for the company's

future.

5 Hours- I helped the staff during Chevrolets marketing activation at the Brickyard 400. During

this time I helped set up the mobile marketing display. The goal of this display was to allow the

consumers interaction with the Chevrolet line up of vehicles.

7 Hours- I helped with the setup through takedown at the charity golf tournament at the

Brickyard. During this time I had to make sure everything was organized and ready to go before

the executives arrived. This charity golf tournament raised over $5,000 for Rileys Children

Hospital.

4. How did working with your mentor affect your understanding of the topic area and /or

the professional world?

Working with my mentor affected my understanding of marketing by helping me realize

how much of a team effort this occupation is. Without everyone's contribution there is no way

the projects would get done on time to meet specific deadlines. He also taught me a lot about the

professional world. He made me realize that if you are going to advertise someone's product then

you would have to understand how to talk to people. In this occupation it is very important to

have connections. The only way you are going to find these connections is by putting yourself

out there and not being shy.

 a. If your mentor contributed to the development of the product, how were they

involved?

My mentor mainly provided information about how to put together some of the

marketing tools and how to present them for my product. Other than that, my product will be

done by me.

5. How did creating a product and completing the hours challenge you personally?

Creating a product and completing the mentor hours challenged me personally in many

ways. When it came down to creating the product I came up with the idea of marketing Shan

Roys Bike. This challenged me to be creative with the different ways I went about

accomplishing this task. When working in a field of business, it is extremely important to be

outgoing and know how to talk with people face to face. This is usually not a challenge for me

but in this scenario it was because I was going from a place full of people I have interacted with

for years to a setting with all new faces and jumping straight into working with a marketing

team. After I got to know everyone it made my mentor hours very interesting and enjoyable.

6. Do you feel prepared academically and emotionally for the presentation?

I do feel academically and emotionally prepared for the presentation. I feel the biggest

contribution to this answer is that I took public speaking as a class. When I first walked into

public speaking I had absolutely no experience with standing in front of an audience. Throughout

the course we did a lot of presentations and I feel like every time I finished a speech, it made me

more comfortable as a speaker.

7. How did the entire process stretch you as a learner and as an individual?
 The entire pride process stretched me as a learner and as an individual in many ways.

With last years pride paper, I was nervous because I never wrote a paper longer than three pages.

When we were asked to write a paper that was eight to ten pages, I was very stressed out but I

feel like it made me a better writer in the end. Having so many check points between the time we

started and the time it was do made it a lot more easy to keep track of what was going on. The

pride project did not do a lot for me academically but it did help me as an individual. Having to

go out and complete my mentor hours with someone in the occupation I was looking into gave

me a taste of how the real world operates. It also showed me that at some point I was going to be

required to come out of my comfort zone.

8. Other than time management, describe an obstacle you encountered and how you

overcame it.

During my pride experience, I came across many different obstacles I had to overcome.

One of the obstacles I encountered was meeting the length requirement for the pride paper. I

overcame this by going back and finding more sources to incorporate within the paper. I also

came across some problems with to be verbs. For this obstacle, I simply went back and

changed them. An obstacle I came across while doing my pride product was mentor hours.

Jumping straight into working with a marketing team put me out of my comfort zone but I am

glad I got this opportunity because I met many nice people in the process.

9. What life skills did you acquire and how will they help you in the future?

I have learned many different life skills through the pride process that will help in the

future. The pride paper taught me how to outline and write a lengthy research paper, this skill

will be very helpful throughout my college years. While completing my mentor hours, I
experienced a very positive insight on what the career I am interested in was all about. Not only

did it show me what it is like on a day to day bases, it also helped me get out of my comfort zone

and interact with a lot of new people. This is going to be a very important skill in the future,

especially because i am looking for a career in business.

10. If you had to go back and do parts of the project again, what would you do differently?

If I could go back and redo part of my project again, I would change my topic to

something more narrowed down like advertising. The topic, marketing, is very broad and could

have a lot of different components that could tie into it. Unlike marketing, a career in advertising

is a lot more simple and only deals with the making of advertisement and putting it out to

consumers. This is still very similar to marketing because they are both looking for the same

outcome.

11. Based on the entire Pride Project experience, do you plan to pursue this field as a

career or college area of study? If so, why? If not, why? Please be specific.

After completing the entire pride project experience, I do plan following a career in some

kind of marketing/advertising. My reason for this is no matter what happens in the future,

companies will need to get there product out to consumers in some kind of way so the career is

very stable. I will most likely continue my educational career at the Western Carolina University

College of Business.