Pittsburg State University / Fordham University

Interview with Bo Ra Park, a master graduate of business / marketing

We interview Bo Ra Park, who is working in a highly sought-after media firm in NY after completing a bachelor's degree in marketing and a master's degree in media. We provide useful tips for students who want to study marketing and media in school and work in the marketing and media fields.

Q. Hello. Please tell us about yourself.

Hello, I’m Bo Ra Park. I have begun studying in Pennsylvania, US since the second year in middle school. After graduating from a highschool in Harrisburg, I studied business at Pittsburg State University. Then, I earned master’s degree in media management at Fordham University.

Q. What made you study abroad?

I went to visit my aunt living in US during the summer break of elementary school. Time I spent in US during the break remained a good memory for a long time, so I decided that I would definitely come to US to study. When I was in middle school, I had an opportunity to study in US, so I prepared for it and came to US. At the time, I was simply fascinated by Americans. I liked the fact that all students were not bound by the school life, and they seemed to enjoy their hobbies freely and spent time with their families, unlike Korea. I wanted to be a part of it. I think it was nice to be able to do things that I enjoyed at that age.

Q. You studied in US for a long time. What is the advantage of US education system?

I think there is a fundamental difference between education system in US and Korea. Most of Korean students seem to be following advance learning or tight classes with the goal to get in a good university. Some American students too have the goal of going to a good school, but I think most of them study in a more comfortable and freer atmosphere compared to Korea. Rather than a goal of getting into the few top schools, students selectively get into a school with reputation for the major the students want to study. Perhaps that is why studying is fundamentally important, and other things such as sports and club activities are important aspects of school life as well. It is an education system that can bring out as much experience as possible about how students participated in team play during sports in club activities, how students accepted and solved the problems when a certain challenge occurred, and how students were able to develop and grow themselves.

Q. You earned bachelor’s degree in marketing at University of Pittsburg and master’s in media at Fordham University. Why did you choose 2 majors?

After graduating from undergraduate with a degree in marketing, I started to wonder about media specifically as I did an intern in a related field. Marketing and media are closely related. When I was in college, social media wasn't as common as it is now, and I just started marketing on social media or similar channels other than TV or magazine ads. So, I was curious about the effectiveness of the various types of channels I used for marketing purpose. I wanted to study media in depth, which is an important part of marketing, and I chose Media Management major in graduate school.

Q. What do you study in marketing major in undergraduate?

Marketing is a required medium for any business, and its biggest attraction is that the performance of the marketing differs greatly depending on how uniquely and effectively you plan and execute your marketing. Simply you will learn everything about finding the target audience that fits that purpose will full understanding of the purpose of the business, selecting the right channel for the target audience, effectively targeting the target audience with the type of the message, at certain time frame, results of the marketing campaign with execution of the marketing strategy, and better ways to accomplish the purpose of the business in the future.

Q. What do you study in media major in graduate?

Marketing that I studied in undergraduate school was just an overview, while, I studied how channels such as TV, radio, and social media are currently being used and how they will be used in the future, and learned from a customer’s perspective of targeting other consumers, and studied the field more in depth in my master's degree in media. If you are interested in not only traditional media such as TV and newspapers, but also various media channels as the times change, I recommend you master’s course in media.

Q. What should students considering majoring in marketing or media focus during their study abroad?

I believe school grades as well as club or sports activities are important for applying for schools in US. When writing an essay, it is important to emphasize the soft and hard skills you acquired through club or sports activities. It is good to always plan your school life with it in mind because you can express your interest in school and major and appeal for yourself when writing an essay. If you are a student considering majoring in marketing, it would be adequately expressed if you include what kind of event was hosted by a high school club, how did you plan to gather attendees, and what achievements were achieved by implementing the plan? I think it will be helpful for future marketing majors to participate in club activities that can improve speaking skills and creativity.

Q. What is required from the students considering majoring in marketing?

I believe marketing majors would be able to understand and empathize with people because marketing should be interested in consumers. As a result, there are many psychology-related classes in marketing classes. Communication skills are also important and it is important that you can describe your thoughts in words and express your feeling. Moreover, a keen insight into the detail with keeping up with trends and trying new things with creative thinking is important, instead of staying in a same spot all the time.

Q. We know you are working in a media firm in US. What application process did you go through? Is there a helpful tip for getting a job?

In graduate school, just like in college, there are many events organized by the department. Among them, there were many opportunities to invite the alumni as a panel, build network with them, and share many tips and experiences they can give to students. Having opportunities to gain experience and information from people working in the field is more important than the knowledge acquired in school. In school, networking has been especially emphasized. Especially in New York, many people around the world want to work there and there’s fierce competition for job opportunity with a simple and general resume. With a network building, if you get to know people who work for a company you want to work for, and get more accurate and necessary information in person than from an online search including talent and skills the company seeks, you will be more competitive than other applicants. Right?

In school, I was recommended for Information Meetings where people you meet at the event are contacted and interviewed. So, I has participated in many such events and tried to contact and set up meetings with people working in the field I was interested in, and get advice from them about the professional life. With such information, I was able to understand what more I needed to do in the marketing field and what I needed to make improvement. It was one of the driving forces that helped me join the company I’m working for now. For now, I am working on planning for a media firm. I’m happy with the job because it's a job I wanted. I like the experience of working in the field and learning new things unlike the knowledge I learned at school. I plan to slowly build my career at this company and continue to develop expertise in the field.