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Leah Schachar ’08 (Dallas, Texas) worked with high-level information technology executives through an internship with Boston-based Yankee Group, an information technology research and consultant firm with clients ranging from Microsoft to Lucent Technologies.
Under the guidance of Julie Zadow ’92, vice president of events for Yankee Group, Schachar helped organize the 2006 Wireless Leadership Summit, one of the company’s largest events, which took place in New York City. Schachar’s internship was paid for in part through a Class of 2006 stipend she received from Lafayette.
“I assisted in a variety of events and marketing-related tasks with preparing Yankee Group’s fall events schedule,” Schachar says. “I worked on the database, telemarketing, web-based research projects, updating, organizing, and proofing, as well as many other small projects.”
Much of Schachar’s work involved rubbing shoulders with executive consultants.
“I scheduled all onsite meetings with analysts and had the unique opportunity of having direct contact with sponsors,” says the double major in mathematics and psychology. “The department set up appointments for me to speak with top professionals in the market, including the fields of sales, promotion, research analysis, and human resources, in order to fully understand [Yankee Group] and other types of industries I might like to pursue in the future.”
Zadow, who has hosted Lafayette students in the past, was pleased with Schachar’s ability to learn the job quickly and become involved at a highly productive level.
“It is sometimes difficult for a student to come out of an academic environment and do well in a business environment,” she says. “However, Leah impressed many people at Yankee Group with her ability to organize, set up interviews, and talk easily with some of the most important people in the industry.”
Schachar chose the internship with Yankee Group because of the work’s challenging nature.
“While looking through Lafayette’s search engine, I learned of Yankee Group and discovered this internship posted by alumna Julie Zadow,” she says “The Group’s devotion to building, strengthening, and supporting a brand with consistency, as well as their intense emphasis on creativity, intrigued me.”
Schachar was also excited to work with “some of the most creative and talented individuals within the marketing, consulting, and events industry” and learned more than she imagined at the start.
“The internship with Yankee Group has been an excellent opportunity for me to explore my own creative and professional abilities while working with top industry specialists,” she says. “I loved being part of a small, yet influential, division and learning from the expertise of Julie Zadow and three other professionals, taking part in the great events they execute, and participating in the passion of a creative marketing experience.”
Zadow believes Schachar fit in well with the department’s innovative approach and added to Yankee Group’s enthusiastic atmosphere.
“Not only has Leah shown a great deal of maturity, but she was also a joy to have around,” she says. “I think her sense of humor made us all want to enjoy our own work even more.”
Schachar is director of fundraising for Delta Gamma sorority. She is a graduate of Greenhill School.