Awesome Alumni: featuring Matthieu Vollmer
This week's post is the final installment in our Awesome Alumni series and features Matthieu Vollmer '12.
Majors: Communication with public relationsemphasis and Business Administration with entrepreneurship emphasis
Current job title/company:
President at Warm Living Real Estate, LLC
President, Marketing Consultant, Writer and Public Relations Pro at Blue Orange Bison, LLC
What do you do in your current position?
I’m a fulltime graduate school student at UW-Oshkosh, which involves a significant amount of studying on top of running two companies. I’m pursuing a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in finance. I expect to graduate in December 2014.
My role as president of Blue Orange Bison, LLC, which is the marketing consulting company I started, involves journalism, social media, graphic design and writing for public relations work, in addition to the general management of my company. To date, I’m the only employee of BOB.
As president of Warm Living Real Estate, LLC, I wear many different hats, which includes managing the finances of the firm—collecting rent payments and general accounting, prospecting new properties, and overseeing maintenance and repairs of properties, just to name of few of the activities. I am also responsible for marketing the business, which involves networking with other real estate investors, pitching investment opportunities to investors, and marketing vacant rental units to potential tenants.
I joined PRSSA during the spring semester of my sophomore year because I knew that if I wanted to have a successful career in public relations, I needed to be involved with PRSSA, which couldn’t be any closer to the truth.
During that year, I was a special events intern in University Relations and Communications at UWSP, working under the direction of Brittany Rossman, a past PRSSA president and UWSP alumna. Brittany strongly encouraged my participation in the group, which I am very thankful for. PRSSA opened many new doors and presented opportunities I would have surely missed if I hadn’t been involved.
Did you hold a leadership position in PRSSA?
I didn’t waste much time in terms of running for an elected leadership position. I started as the Public Relations Director the semester after I joined, and by spring of that year I was President of PRSSA. I served two terms as President.
The experience was extremely rewarding in addition to being challenging. I was constantly stretched beyond my comfort zones, which helped me grow as an individual and professional. The experiences I had in these positions generated portfolio material and boosted my resume, which undoubtedly set the foundation for a prosperous early career. Perhaps, what I found to be most rewarding was assisting new members and underclassmen with their studies, and the pursuit of a career in PR while I was a junior and senior. I enjoyed offering guidance to other students to help them achieve their goals along the way. For me, observing the successes of other students that were realized through opportunities PRSSA presented was extremely gratifying.
How has your PRSSA membership helped you in your professional career?
There is no doubt that my involvement with PRSSA helped me considerably in my professional career and job searches.
I like to think that my experiences in PRSSA provided with me the fundamentals for career success in addition to what I learned in the classroom. PRSSA allowed me to get hands-on PR experience that I could apply in the classroom, internships and future jobs.
Presentations, workshops and conferences also paved the way to extremely rich networking opportunities and taught me how to effectively apply for jobs.
Networking through PRSSA students and alumni was and is to this day, invaluable. I have landed internships and jobs because of the people I met through PRSSA. The power of networking in this organization should not be underestimated. Of course, you need to know your “stuff” in addition to knowing the right people. I can assure you, that PRSSA will introduce you to the “right people.”
Why should students join and become involved in PRSSA?
If you are serious about advancing your career, PRSSA is a must. I could probably write a ten-page handout explaining the benefits of joining PRSSA, that’s how important and influential it is.
The short of it is that this organization will enhance your learning experience at UWSP that will lead to opportunities that will undoubtedly advance your career whether it’s landing an internship or getting a great job upon graduation.
It’s also a ton of fun! You’ll meet some of your best friends in this group and will certainly keep in touch with them for years to come after graduation.
I like to think of membership in PRSSA as a life-long journey. It doesn’t end at PRSSA. It continues with PRSA after graduation and throughout your career.
What was your favorite part of being a PRSSA member?
Wow, there are so many fond memories of PRSSA. For me, the best part of being a member of PRSSA was the people. We had so many smart, motivated and driven students on board which really made PRSSA what it was when I was in school. We had a blast.
My best memory, when I reflect back, is the sense of accomplishment I felt after the end of two years as president. We worked hard to make PRSSA a great organization that would be there for generations of students yet to come. PRSSA was great before I came on board and I felt like it was just a little greater when I left, which was a fantastic sense of accomplishment. That was my best memory.
What is one thing you would have done differently in college?
My biggest mistake was overextending myself. I wanted to do everything, all the time, and accomplish it all at the snap of a finger. This led to semesters of more work than I could handle, which inevitably caused some grades to slip.
If I could go back and do it again, I would have paced myself better and learned to say “no” to some of the extras that hindered my quality of work in the classroom. For example, between classes and internships, I had 21 credits in semester. For your own sanity, do not take 21 credits in one semester!
What advice would you give to students just getting into their major?
There is a lot of advice to give, but I’ll keep it short. I suggest setting specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goals from the beginning and aim for the fences.
For example, a lot of students know that they want to get a job after college. Think about what kind of job, in what industry and for which company you want to work for. The more specific your end goal is, the better you can prepare your strategy throughout your academic career that will get you to your final destination. Don’t start thinking about employment after graduation the semester before you graduate, start thinking about it from the very beginning.
The other major piece of advice I would give is that your level of academic success is dictated almost solely by you. For example, if you want to receive awards for academic success or leadership qualities, you need to plan for those accomplishments and do the right things that will enable you to qualify for those awards or accomplishments. Don’t fall into the trap of looking back and saying to yourself, “Well, if I had known that, I would have done that differently.”
Take the time to do your research and plan for the future, otherwise, the future will come, and you will be left with whatever life gives you instead of what you want from life.
What advice would you give to students preparing for graduation this academic year?
I’m going to share some advice that might sound cold or discouraging, but I feel that you need to know this.
In this day in age, we live in a time of instant gratification. I can guarantee you this, instant gratification does not exist in marketing, and it surely doesn’t exist in career success.
You need to be prepared to start at the bottom and work hard to advance your career. Professionals in generations before you were not entitled to anything, nor will you be. Most likely, you will not get a job in mid-management when you graduate; instead, you will start in an entry level position, which is typical. Try not to expect to get a cushy job and start living like your parents right after you graduate. Remember, your parents have spent years accumulating wealth and working their way up the ladder, and likewise, you should expect the same.
The bottom line is that finishing your undergraduate degree is only the beginning. It will give you the foundation for career success, not a successful career that falls on your lap after walking across the commencement stage. Be prepared to work hard and apply the concepts you learned throughout your undergraduate career and you’ll do just fine. Remember, when one door closes, another one will open. Stay calm when opportunities pass and welcome new alternatives, even if they deviate from your initial plans.
Are you currently a PRSA member?
Yes, I am a PRSA member. I have been a member of the Northeast Wisconsin PRSA Chapter since 2012. I enjoy membership in PRSA because it helps keep abreast of the latest public relations trends, even though I’m no longer studying PR at the undergraduate level.
In addition, I began working to start a PRSA chapter in Central Wisconsin, which has been a challenging and rewarding process.
I highly recommend PRSA to all PRSSA members upon graduation from UWSP.
LinkedIn: Matthieu Vollmer
