How to Ignite Your Potential 101
by Caitlin Sorensen
Ah, senior year. The time where college students must simultaneously stay engaged with their courses while totally not freaking out that at the end of this, they enter the “real world.” Luckier than most, during my senior year I was provided an opportunity that would save me from this confusing, post-graduation madness... I just didn’t know it yet.
It was the summer of 2018. I was heading into my senior year when I received an email from the Academic Office at Menlo College about a new course taking place in the Fall. Obviously, as a senior you want as small of a course load as possible, but this class made me risk at all (and by all I mean taking 5 classes instead of 4). “Marketing IDR Taught by Trustee Member, Andy Cunningham.” It must be a pretty special class if they are letting a Board Member teach an Independent Research (IDR) class. I continued to scroll through the message, eventually landing on Andy’s bio. And WOW! This woman revolutionized industries, published a best-selling book outlining her positioning and branding framework and methodologies, and helped Steve Jobs launch the Macintosh! She is everything a young marketer about to enter the “real world” hopes to someday be. And here she was. Teaching a class at my college! Jokingly, I thought to myself, “Maybe I can get a job out of this!” But in all seriousness, I was determined to work extremely hard in order to soak up every piece of information Andy presented to me with the hope that I could wiggle my way into her network. I submitted the course application that evening.
On the first day, Andy gifted us all a signed copy of her book, Get to Aha! (mine is now covered in highlights, dog ears, and sticky tabs). Andy’s marketing turned textbook would serve as the foundation of the entire course. The organization of the class consisted of learning the framework in Get to Aha!, followed by a group presentation of a marketing campaign to the Board of Trustees incorporating Andy’s methods. The winning campaign would be executed at Menlo during the second semester.
After months of studying Andy's methodology, I knew exactly the direction in which I wanted my team’s strategy to go for the final presentation. To meet the objective of increasing awareness of Menlo College, my group and I wanted to communicate the advantages a Menlo College degree would give prospective students by highlighting alumni success stories throughout various media channels. The Board of Trustees deemed our group the winners, and thus, “Potential on Fire” was born. The ultimate college experience where students take advantage of every workshop and networking opportunity, they become involved on campus, and they are continuously pushing to be the best versions of themselves to flourish in the future- now that’s “Potential on Fire.”
Caitlin Sorensen pitching her campaign to the Menlo College Board of Trustees, 2018.
My final semester at Menlo was spent juggling my last four courses as a college student, organizing extra-curricular events, and executing the campaign my classmates and I worked so hard to organize. Clearly needing more on my plate, I volunteered to be the Project Manager of the “Potential on Fire” campaign. As the Project Manager, I was responsible for overseeing the scheduling of interviews with alumni, managing the task completion for each stage of the campaign, and checking in with Andy on a weekly basis. In this role I worked closely with Andy and learned essential skills to improve the progress of the campaign, and in return, she saw how I organize and execute projects from start to finish.
With the conclusion of college, comes the need to figure out post-graduation life. My classmates and I were making progress on the campaign, and the seniors in the course were eagerly searching for jobs. Hello, “real world!” Not having much luck, I reached out to Andy asking if she would be able to introduce me to someone in her network who is searching for a marketing employee. I was studying for finals, applying for jobs, and refreshing my inbox every couple of minutes when I finally received Andy's response. She offered me a job with her firm, Cunningham Collective! After a year of working together on this project, she was truly able to understand how I work, and this past year served as a job application. After meeting with two other team members, the deal was sealed. I accepted the job and officially joined the Cunningham Collective.
I spent the prior year developing a campaign surrounding the concept of potential. After the campaign was finished, I had graduated, and Andy had offered me a job, I realized that my own potential had been ignited. I am living the campaign I worked so hard to develop, organize and execute. I am living my very own “Potential on Fire” experience. And I am grateful for the opportunity.
