Tomorrow: TJX with Laurie Lynch!

Happy Sunday! 

Join us for our meeting tomorrow, Monday, September 19th at 7:00pm in Isenberg 137 (Flavin Auditorium) for a company visit from TJX! Recruiter Laurie Lynch will be focusing on sustainability and female empowerment in the company. This is a great opportunity to learn more about TJX, and opportunities that the company has to offer!

We also will be live streaming this meeting on Zoom for virtual viewers to attend. Join us using the following link:
Zoom Link: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/98339046651 
Meeting ID: 983 3904 6651

Reminders:

• Membership Dues: Dues for the year are $10. These gain you access to special events (field trips and social events), are the first consideration when applying for E-Board, allow you to put “Active Member of WiB” on your resume, and gain you access to our new WiB Membership Packet! 

  • Venmo @UMassWiB with your full name and UMass Email

  • Bring cash up at the end of our meeting and sign the excel sheet

Committee Sign-Ups:

• Community Service Committee: If you are interested in the Community Service Committee, sign up here! The first meeting will be held Thursday, September 29th at 6pm (Room TBD).

• Marketing Committee: If you are interested in the Marketing Committee, sign up here! The first meeting will be held Wednesday, September 21st at 6pm (Room TBD).

• Peer Mentorship Program: If you are interested in being a mentor or a mentee in our Peer Mentorship Program, please fill out the form here!

If you would like to learn more about WiB, check out our website and follow our Instagram (@IsenbergWiB), where we post regular updates about meetings, events and opportunities. 

 Additional Opportunities

Girls Who Invest
Girls Who Invest is a program dedicated to increasing the number of women leaders in the asset management industry. They will be hosting an information session, targeted at freshmen and sophomores, for their Summer Intensive Program and Online Intensive Program TOMORROW, Monday, September 19th, at 8:00 in Flavin Auditorium (Isenberg 137). Click here for more information about their programs and here to register for the information session. 

UMass Smart Women Securities
UMass SWS is hosting “Beyond your Degree: Careers in Finance” on Saturday, October 1st from 9:00am to 4:00pm in the Business Innovation Hub! There will be faculty speakers, panel discussions and networking opportunities all aimed at exploring career paths in finance. To learn more or register, click this link!

UMass UMASS Aeronautics Team
The UMASS Aeronautics Team is looking to fill two year long positions: Head of Marketing, and Operations Manager. Both of these positions would require 2-3 hours a week, and a chance to work closely with the aeronautics team. To express your interest, fill out this form!

Minutemen Equity Fund UMass
The MEF is a student-run investment fund on campus, and their application for their Diversity Development Program for the fall semester is open! Freshman and Sophomores of any major are invited to apply, the deadline is Sunday, September 25th at 11:59pm. Click this link for the application form, and reach out here if you have any questions. 

TJX
TJX has begun recruiting for their merchandising opportunities, and invites members to apply! Click here for more information on their Merchandising Internship Program and here for more information on their Merchandising Career Path Program.

TEK Systems
TEK Systems in Framingham/Andover is a IT service management company interested in recruiting UMass students for careers in recruiting and sales! For more information, reach out to this email address! 

Seaboard International Forest Products
Seaboard International Forest Products is located in Nashua, NH, a premier commodity trading firm. The company invites interested students to visit them on Wednesday, September 28th from 11:00am to 4:00pm at the Isenberg Virtual Career Fair, at the table in the Business Innovation Hub on Thursday, September 29th from 10:30am to 1:00pm. For more information about the company, click this link. 

Grant Thorton
Grant Thorton invites WIB members to apply for positions across all service lines! Applications are due Friday, September 30th. Use this link to find more information, or reach out to campus recruiter Lacy Kirks with questions. 

PepsiCo North Beverages
PepsiCO would like to invite UMass students to apply for the following Summer 2023 Internships: Sales Management Intern and Sales Management Associate. If you do apply for either of these positions, send your resume to PepsiCO campus recruiter Mayra Luna! 

Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual is looking for UMass students to apply to their Summer 2023 Associate Consultant position within Corporate Strategy & Research. For more information about this position, check out this link.

Cornerstone Research
Cornerstone Research is an economic and financial consulting firm that is accepting applications for Summer 2023 Analyst positions! The deadline is Sunday, October 2nd. For more information, click this link or email UMass alum Aoife Coady with questions. 

GenHERation
GenHERation is a network where young women and companies can partner and connect. GenHERation offers a wide range of opportunities, like meet-ups, internships, competition and full time roles. To find out more information and view application deadlines, click this link. 

Top Shelf Academy 
Top Shelf Academy specializes in teaching and training students on how to underwrite investments in the commercial real estate industry. They are inviting UMass students to sign up for their Real Estate Finance and Excel for Real Estate courses for free using code umasspromo! Use this link to find out more information. 

First Meeting Tomorrow!

Happy Sunday everyone!

Our first meeting of the semester is tomorrow night! Join us Monday, September 12th at 7:00pm in Isenberg 137 (Flavin Auditorium) for a welcome meeting! We are so excited to share what WiB is all about, ways to get more involved, as well as some of our fun plans for the semester. All are welcome, so bring your friends!

We will also be at the Isenberg Club Fair on Monday, September 12th from 3:30-6:00pm in the Isenberg Business Innovation Hub. Feel free to stop by and say hello! This is a great chance to learn more about our club and ask any questions you may have.

Additionally, we will be live streaming our meetings on Zoom for virtual viewers to attend. Join us tomorrow at 7pm using the following link:
Zoom Link: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/j/98339046651
Meeting ID: 983 3904 6651

If you would like to learn more about WiB, check out our website and follow our Instagram (@IsenbergWiB), where we post regular updates about meetings, events and opportunities.

We cannot wait to meet you all tomorrow!

The Online Shopping Trap

By: Ayesha Devani

With developments in technology alongside an increase in convenience, online shopping is more popular than ever. The Covid-19 pandemic only encouraged the same. Amazon, eBay, and the clothing brand Shein are a few of the many popular companies that operate online. However, with an increase in access to resources, brands are beginning to provide their services in-store and online. Clothing brand Zara, for instance, has broken growth records with its online presence. From a consumption point of view, online shopping has various drawbacks that are rarely revealed to consumers. This, of course, is hidden from us to promote the brand and aid its profitability. This article uses personal examples alongside references to the biggest brands in the business.

Due to my personal bias towards online shopping, I believe I have explored various brands and the services they provide. This is particularly directed at clothing stores since online clothing stores have truly revolutionized the way people shop. People, in specific, refer to teenagers since our age group is more vulnerable to marketing on social media. As online shoppers not only are we deprived of an unbiased quality check, but we are also deprived of being able to evaluate our purchase. In terms of clothing, this often leads to a lack of understanding of sizing, texture, measurements, and many others. Due to advancements in technology, online shopping websites now allow us to view sizing, insert our own measurements, and identify the perfect fit for us. However, due to how diverse our bodies and choices, it is extremely rare that these perfect fits are indeed perfect. 

A huge aspect of online shopping is heavily dependent on personal preferences. However, there are other aspects of online shopping that work to manipulate consumers. Fabletics, a recently growing sports brands company, has expanded its marketing to social media. Amongst the many others targeted, the first time I heard of the brand was through an Instagram advertisement. Instantly attracted by the “Shop 80% off,” I chose to visit the website. After adding a few pieces into my bag, I was taken to a page that asked me to join a VIP club to claim the discount. One aspect of the VIP deal that the brand failed to communicate explicitly is that the account would be charged $40 each month in order to remain a part of the club. This, a personal example, is the smallest example of how brands market their products with discounts allowing consumers to believe that they are the ones at gain. AliExpress, another recently growing brand, is often found to be controversial. Its legitimacy is one that’s at question. Its cheap prices have always attracted a rather large pool of consumers. The cheap prices, however, often result in poor-quality merchandise. The Chinese marketplace is a third-party platform and hence, lacks control over important aspects like delivery and shipping time.

With an increase in controversy alongside an increase in access to resources, online shopping brands have adapted and now allow us to access the best of the products. However, this increase in technology alongside the increase in online marketing allows them to target us and present deals that are only attractive at first. This is exactly why online shopping is a trap.

Resources:

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/safe-shop-aliexpress/

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjZ4NWQ77L3AhVNUt8KHZo6CycQFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yournextshoes.com%2Ffabletics-awesome-scam%2F&usg=AOvVaw1uyC3Y3tm3X95CTuhpZMwC

Building Your Own Unique Path in Your Life

By: Sravani Kaza

Everyone in society strives to achieve overall happiness and satisfaction in their lives. As individuals, we are taught from a young age about what living a successful life means. Younger children are often asked the question of what they want to be when they grow up, and kids generally answer with out of the box professions such as an astronaut or a princess. Adults usually chuckle at these responses because they know that these professions are not realistic in the long run. As we grow older, we are taught that success can only be measured based on the job you have, how much income you earn, what house you live in, and what kind of car you drive. The career paths that are generally viewed as successful are the traditional ones such as business, medicine and healthcare, computer science, engineering, and law along with a few more. These occupations are usually seen as successful because they are prestigious and also come with a decent paycheck. However, there is so much more to life than merely looking at the definition and idea of success on a superficial level.

Growing up, my parents have always stressed the importance of education and landing a successful career when I grow up. Thus, every single thing that I did and everything I took part in during high school was driven by the advice that my parents had instilled in me. I didn’t really think to question it or try to create my own definition of success and happiness. The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic encouraged me to view the idea of life differently than I had before and forced me to create my own idea of what I want out of my life. There are very few people in my life who fall outside of the traditional, stereotypical path when it comes to choosing a career. However, those are the people that I am most inspired and motivated by because it takes an immense amount of bravery and courage to step up and do something differently than the rest of the world. For example, one of my best friends is an artist and she always has been ever since she was a little girl. Art has always been her passion for as long as I can remember and she decided to major in graphic design in college. She chose to build her own path in her life rather than following the crowd and choosing a major based on what she was supposed to choose or based on what others wanted her to choose. She knew what she wanted out of her life so she chose to go after her dreams and ambitions. 

It can be very difficult to live your life according to your own terms and to not care about what others in your life think and what they want for you as we are constantly surrounded by people in our daily lives. It is important to take in everything from your surroundings and use that in order to find your true passion and what you want out of your life. After all, you are the one that will be living your life and not anyone else so it is crucial to act according to what will truly make you genuinely happy and not based on making others happy. If you follow your dreams, they will eventually take you where you are meant and destined to be.   

Now, I try my best to live my life based on this newfound wisdom and outlook on life. I realized that being happy in life is all that matters in the long run and that everything else will eventually fall into place. Creating a life that you love and one that you are satisfied, happy, and content with is the only thing that matters at the end of the day. Whether you are an artistic visionary, an entrepreneur, an engineer, a musician, an athlete, or one of the many other possibilities out there, make sure that you stay true to who you are and to your individual ambitions in life. Don’t let other people’s metrics and measures of success become your own. Design a life that you love and live that life to the absolute fullest. Ultimately, pave your own unique path in your life and you will be happy and content.  

Staying Focused and Motivated During Spring Finals

By: Lily Elkhay

For many of us, this is our first complete spring semester here at UMass in person. Like many, I am itching for this semester to be over to begin enjoying the nice weather and free time with friends and family. Staying motivated and focused on getting work done has become more and more difficult, as the excitement of summer grows closer. However, as the semester wraps up and finals creep up, it is important to stay in the moment and focused on schoolwork. While summer may be much more exciting than finals, I promise vacation is not going anywhere, so it is important to look at the present for the next couple of weeks. Especially for many classes, these last assignments and exams are the ones weighed most heavily for the final grade.

One of my favorite ways to stay organized during finals that I begin doing my first semester of college, back in Fall 2019, is using the sticky note feature to display reminders on my desktop. Specifically, on the sticky note, I list all my classes and make bullets under each one of the remaining assignments and exams, along with their due dates. Seeing all my assignments makes me feel less overwhelmed because at this point in the semester there are only a few bullets under each class. It also does not let me forget an assignment or its due date, as I am constantly on my laptop for school. As a bonus, deleting a bullet after completing and submitting an assignment is a weight off my shoulders each time, as I can visually see the sticky note get shorter and shorter. 

It is extremely easy to feel burnt out after hours in the library. Remember to take frequent breaks to avoid feeling burnt out and get fresh air. Make mini-goals and spread your assignments and studying over several days, instead of cramming at the last minute to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Especially as the semester wraps up, I find looking at my sticky note that many of the assignments are due on or around the same date. Instead of cramming everything for the night before, scheduling blocks of time to work on assignments for the days leading up to the due dates will help reduce feeling overwhelmed. Also, not procrastinating is always worth it in the end when you are able to sleep soundly the night before an exam. Another studying tip I have for finals is making incentives. Telling yourself you can treat yourself to a smoothie at the Isenberg café, or whatever treat to make your day a little brighter, after studying one more chapter of the essay material or after writing one more paper toward your essay is always a great incentive to stay focused and give yourself something to look forward to. It can be used as a motivator to help begin sitting down to focus on work. That being said, it is also a great idea to fuel your body with snacks during studying sessions to support and energize your cognitive function!

It is important to take extra time to care for yourself during finals. As the weather warms up, I love spending time outside and going on walks by myself with a good playlist to clear my head from the stress of upcoming assignments and exams. Thinking about the huge assignments and exams that could possibly define your final grade can be incredibly stressful. Finding healthy ways to release stress is extremely important, whether that be taking a peaceful walk, taking a long and hot shower, hitting the gym, having your favorite carton of Ben & Jerrys, or streaming a movie on Netflix. Taking finals season day by day, with relaxation in between, will help you ace your assignments.