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Pictured are Sabrina Tatalias and Brianna Farrand.

Sabrina Tatalias and Brianna Farrand

"I love that these articles really demonstrate the impact of experiential learning and Point Park’s career-ready focus — and that our students are sharing the knowledge they’re building through their classes and experiences."

Dorene Ciletti, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the marketing and sales program at Point Park University
Pictured is Brianna Farrand.

Point Park University's America250PA Direct Effect Innovation Challenge team members Bri Farrand, a 2020 multimedia graduate, and Sabrina Tatalias, a junior applied computer science (IT) major and digital marketing minor, were recently published on Medium.com for their articles "From Whiteboard to Wilkes Barre to Webinar: A Student’s Marketing Journey" and "Can Direct Mail Be Innovative?"

Farrand’s article highlighted the opportunities she's had at Point Park, her Direct Effect Innovation Challenge team experience and the Direct Effect® Live Webinar she participated in with Dorene Ciletti, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the marketing and sales program in the Rowland School of Business at Point Park University.

"My hope is that this article encourages other students and educators to consider implementing more live client projects in university curricula," Farrand said.

Tatalias’ article focused on direct marketing and showed examples from her team's Direct Effect Innovation Challenge experience and Ciletti's marketing class.

"I love that these articles really demonstrate the impact of experiential learning and Point Park’s career-ready focus — and that our students are sharing the knowledge they’re building through their classes and experiences," Ciletti said.

Pictured is Sabrina Tatalias."I have always had a passion for business and technology, but was unsure how to connect the two together when it came to career development and my career path. The Direct Effect Innovation Challenge and our America250PA team project was the perfect opportunity to hone in my passions, along with gain new skills in direct marketing. My favorite part was the collaboration with my teammates, especially since we all came from different backgrounds. The brainstorming and design process where we bounced ideas off one another was another highlight, as well as creating something from a concept idea into a full out year-long campaign to reach the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania," Tatalias explained.

Farrand added: "My favorite part was definitely the networking that came along with the experience. Each member on our team studied a different discipline so I was able to expand my knowledge in research, data analysis, public relations, advertising and much more simply by working with my teammates. In addition, I met some incredibly talented professionals in the fields of marketing, print production and design who I've been able to maintain frequent communication with for advice and networking. Overall, I'm very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people, all the while building my skill set and doing what I love. I couldn't have asked for anything more to prepare me for real-world work."


More About: information technology, multimedia, Rowland School of Business, applied computer science, School of Communication, marketing and sales