Careers with impact: From marketing and creativity to sustainability and social impact
Passionate about creativity and communication, but with an interest in sustainability, the guest of the 3rd episode of the We Are What We Dream Podcast, Mariana Lopes, aims for a career with an impact that brings the two worlds together.
A recent graduate from CATÓLICA LISBON in Business Administration, she reconciled her international degree with leading the communications office at the Católica Students Union, with the good grades that secured her a scholarship, and more recently with volunteering at the Santa Teresa Association through the Life Project.
She says that she has always had "a creative streak" and if she could choose a profession she would be Marketing Director of a company, so much so that during the course she chose various subjects such as Digital Marketing and Neuromarketing. As for her interest in sustainability and social impact, she took a number of "courses very much focussed on the Sustainable Development Goals."
"There are several subjects that have marked me," but "I think the people and the moments you have with them are what make the degree," he confesses, recalling all the trips and even "the little moments studying in the open space" at UCP.
And it was at the various UCP activities, from OPEN DAY to the Students' Association, that he made more friends, from which he will take friends for life and possible future business partners. "At the time we even talked about setting up a marketing agency," he shares.
In addition to her friendships, Mariana also highlights her international Erasmus experience in Rome. "A spectacular and grandiose city, because I was living at the foot of a castle," she says with a laugh. About this unique experience, which only lasted a semester, she advises her classmates to stay longer so they can enjoy it.
Although he confesses that "trying to do everything at once" was challenging, taking part in various activities has given him skills such as time management and team leadership to apply in his future career.
But the most special project was undoubtedly the CATÓLICA LISBON Students' Association Barbecue, where they were challenged to create a new brand. "It was brand management in its infancy" and "a preparation for the future."
As for advice for the future, the recent graduate believes it's important to take advantage of it. Taking advantage of the teachers' accessibility "to ask questions and help, not only academically, but also in professional life, internships and letters of recommendation." But also take advantage of all the other moments, from parties to Learning In Action, a soft skills programme.