From Campus to Career: How Follett’s Student Marketing Directors Are Building Skills for What’s Next
Through real-world marketing projects and campus partnerships, Follett’s Student Marketing Director program gives students the experience, confidence, and skills to prepare for their careers.
At Follett Higher Education, students gain valuable professional experience on their own campuses, develop marketing skills, lead projects, and help shape how their campus stores engage with the university community.
Through Follett’s Student Marketing Director (SMD) program, students play an active role in connecting campus stores with fellow students, faculty, alumni, and fans. From creating social media campaigns and planning events to collaborating with campus partners, SMDs gain practical experience while bringing a valuable student perspective to local marketing efforts.
For students like Alia Mengler at Purdue University and Arianna Howell at the University of South Florida, the program offers opportunities to explore their interests and develop professional skills. And for former Wake Forest University SMD Michaella Gregoire, that experience helped prepare her for a career in professional sports marketing with the Tennessee Titans.
Learning by Doing
Follett’s Student Marketing Directors work alongside campus store teams to develop and execute local marketing initiatives. SMDs develop content, manage campaigns, analyze performance, support campus events, and build relationships with university departments, including athletics, admissions, and alumni relations.
With opportunities to take ownership of projects, students develop skills in marketing strategy, communication, collaboration, and project management. Campus stores, in turn, benefit from fresh ideas and insights from students who understand their university communities firsthand.
Bringing Boilmaker Spirit to Life at Purdue
For Alia Mengler, Student Marketing Director at Purdue University, the role combines her lifelong passion for the Boilermakers with an opportunity to gain meaningful professional experience.
A lifelong Purdue fan, Alia brings a personal connection to the university community while gaining a behind-the-scenes perspective on campus marketing. From social media content and campus events to hands-on marketing projects, she’s applying classroom concepts to campaigns designed to engage fellow students and fans.
Being a Student Marketing Director has given me the opportunity to combine my love for Purdue with my passion for marketing. I get to be creative, work on projects that make an impact, and see what goes into bringing the campus experience to life. It’s exciting to take what I’m learning in class and put it into practice,” said Alia.
Alia brings a personal connection to the university community while gaining a behind-the-scenes perspective on campus marketing.
Connecting Creativity & Campus Athletics at USF
At the University of South Florida, Student Marketing Director Arianna Howell is combining her passion for sports with practical marketing experience.
Through collaborations with USF Athletics, Arianna has explored new marketing approaches and developed creative ways to engage the Bulls community. The role has encouraged her to experiment with new ideas, take risks, and better understand how marketing can strengthen connections across campus.
One of the best parts of being an SMD is having the freedom to be creative and try new things. I’ve loved getting to work with Athletics and finding different ways to engage our campus community. It’s taught me to take risks, trust my ideas, and learn from every experience,” shared Arianna.
By collaborating directly with university partners and taking an active role in campus marketing initiatives, Arianna is developing the creativity, adaptability, and collaboration skills that will serve her throughout her career.
From Wake Forest to the Tennessee Titans
For Michaella Gregoire, a 2026 Wake Forest University graduate, the SMD program became an important stepping stone toward a career in sports marketing.
Michaella joined Follett’s SMD program before her junior year, bringing a passion for sports and an interest in marketing. Over the next two years, she gained experience managing social media, coordinating campus events, collaborating with university athletics, and developing marketing campaigns.
One of her most memorable projects was helping launch lululemon merchandise at the Wake Forest campus store. The launch included multiple events, creative photo shoots, and campus collaborations, driving meaningful sales during the launch weekend.
The project gave Michaella experience managing a marketing initiative from concept through execution, including managing timelines, collaborating with partners, and measuring results.
After graduating in May 2026 with a degree in Business Enterprise Management and a concentration in Marketing, Michaella joined the Tennessee Titans as a Campaign Planning Fellow. In her new role, she helps coordinate marketing campaigns across email, digital, social media, and paid channels, supporting initiatives ranging from ticket promotions to fan engagement campaigns.
Michaella credits the breadth of her SMD experience with helping her prepare for the role and giving her meaningful examples to share during the interview process. Rather than simply assisting with campaigns, Michaella was often responsible for developing ideas, coordinating with partners, and overseeing execution. That level of responsibility helped her build the organizational, communication, and project management skills she now uses in professional sports marketing.
I think the SMD program is really great because we are given so much freedom to be creative and to really try those different things and see what works,” Michaella shared.
For Michaella, that mix of creative freedom, hands-on experience, and support from her campus store team turned an interest in sports marketing into a professional opportunity.
Building Skills for What’s Next
As colleges and universities continue to emphasize career readiness and experiential learning, Follett’s Student Marketing Director program demonstrates how campus partnerships can create valuable opportunities for students to apply what they’re learning in the classroom.
For students like Alia and Arianna, the program provides an opportunity to explore their interests, strengthen their skills, and gain experience that will help shape their next steps.
And for graduates like Michaella, it helped build the foundation for a career in professional sports marketing.
Collectively, their experiences highlight the value of giving students the opportunity to take ownership, contribute ideas, and develop professionally while they’re still in school. Through the SMD program, Follett is investing in the next generation of marketing professionals while helping students turn their campus experiences into opportunities for future success.