This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Getting more riders on the New Jersey Transit bus and rail lines served as a challenging summer internship opportunity for English and American studies double major Juliann Harabedian ’08 (Basking Ridge, N.J.) and economics and business major Rob Hyde ’09 (Chatham, N.J.).
The students worked with graduates Alma Scott-Buczak ’74 and Megan Sanicki ’96 at NJ Transit in order to promote the organization’s various services throughout the Garden State.
Among their tasks, the students promoted NJ Transit’s ventures to Monmouth Park racetrack, Six Flags Great Adventure, PNC Arts Center, and various other destinations. They handed out flyers, went to events at the PNC center, and developed a MySpace page at www.myspace.com/thewaytogonj.
“It was great to see the direct impact of the marketing campaigns on the ridership in the target areas,” says Harabedian. “It was a rewarding experience to be directly involved in campaign decisions and to help cater NJ Transit’s media to the various sectors of New Jersey.”
Sanicki touted the value of summer alumni-hosted internships as a way to get undergraduates into the business world and see how things really work outside the classroom.
“I think it’s applied learning. That’s the most important thing,” she says. “You might read in a book about how to do market research or how to execute a campaign or see in a textbook what a good ad looks like. But do you really know how to put that together? When they come in they might be stuffing bags, but we also make sure they have experience in each phase of the marketing lifecycle.”
Hyde says the project helped him broaden his horizons.
“I’m majoring in economics and business, which is very general. I really learned a lot about marketing, and I find the subject very interesting,” he says.
Harabedian believes the experience helped solidify her career choice.
Among the most rewarding experiences she cited was the ability to follow the marketing campaign from beginning to end. She says Sanicki was a great help in making sure things were done correctly.
“This internship really supported my decision to pursue a marketing career. It helped me to understand all the workings involved in marketing a public company versus a private one,” Harabedian says. “There are many more restrictions and roadblocks such as budgets, salaries, expenses and sponsors, which makes the process more challenging and rewarding in the end.”
Sanicki has praise for the work both interns performed.
“This is a very busy time of the year for us, and the interns helped lighten the load,” she says. “They really stepped up to the plate.”
Harabedian is a former member of the varsity tennis team and is the manager for the student phonathon. She is going to be in charge of the Senior Class Fund Drive this year and is the social chair for Kappa Kappa Gamma.
Hyde plays club ice hockey and is the treasurer of the Student Movement Against Cancer.