Austin Shepherd - Marketing Management, Winter 2020
The ability to so quickly connect the things you learn and the people you meet into the city of Detroit and the things you’re doing. A big reason of joining Honors is to separate yourself and in a city that is big enough to matter to the world, yet small enough to matter in it. This is a huge upper hand in a positively volatile environment.
Your name, major and perspective year of graduation
Austin Shepherd, Marketing Management, Winter 2020
What are you involved in that you would like featured in Honors publications/website?
I'm a content strategist for FOX Sports. A recipient of the 25-under-25 award at age 20. I am a member of SEBA.
How has Honors prepared you for your chosen career path?
Honor's has helped my career path in a unique way. It has allowed me to register for my classes early which gives me the upmost flexible schedule I need to bend around the hectic schedule that the professional sports industry encompasses. Without that advantage it maybe very well that I could not have even pursued the opportunities that I have without the Honors College. The program also put me with other highly motivated students with jolted my network for both studying and career support.
Furthermore I have been told by an admissions office at the Ross School of Business that the honors are looked favorably upon by the college for MBA applicants, which is my next educational goal as I plan to pursue a MBA at the Ross School of Business with a focus in strategy.
Finally, on my opportunities with both FOX Sports and Jack Morton/General Motors, I was asked about the Honors College and it was pointed out as a positive in briefing over my resume through both interview processes. You just can't go wrong with setting yourself up with the Honors College here at WSU.
What makes Honors at WSU unique?
The ability to so quickly connect the things you learn and the people you meet into the city of Detroit and the things you’re doing. A big reason of joining Honors is to separate yourself and in a city that is big enough to matter to the world, yet small enough to matter in it. This is a huge upper hand in a positively volatile environment.
Tell me about your experience in your major.
I dove right into marketing at the ground level of a start up called York Project. There I was the marketing director. I then interned on the marketing team at Quicken Loans. After Quicken I worked as a marketing and communications intern for Jackson County and was then hired onto the FOX Sports team as a digital strategy intern where I primarily worked with social media aspects, I later was hired on as a content strategist and currently work there along with interning at a world leader in experiential marketing, Jack Morton as a General Motors Project Management Intern.
My experience is thick for my age, but is not just what I do in these experiences that helps me, but my constant obsession of learning. Everyday I pursue new routes of thought process, personal development, and the gathering of insights. Most of that is done purely through connecting thoughts through LOTS of reading and by simply asking questions. I love to know how different peoples' minds work and what makes them tick.
How have you changed academically, personally and professionally since joining Wayne State University?
I've drastically changed on all accounts. Being surrounded by a plethora of commerce and professionals in the city is very invigorating. Everyday is a refresh, nothing feels stagnant in this city. I'd contribute a lot of that to the current state of growth and rebuilding spirit in Detroit. It's inspiring and highly contagious!
What is your favorite thing to do in Detroit?
If I'm not showing my girlfriend (who goes to MSU) something new, then I'm grabbing some friends and headed to a night game at Comerica