Jaina Wald
Marketing & Strategy
Co-President,
RAMS
VP,
Membership, Toastmasters
Tech
Chair, SGA
Jaina is a second-year, full-time Marketing and Strategy student. If you know her, you know that Jaina smiles in the face of wild, 900 pound felines. If you don't know her, you wonder why she smiles in the face of wild, 900 pound felines. Nonetheless, here is an interview with a future brand manager at Campbell's Soup.
What’s your deal? Where were
you before you came to RBS? Why are you here now?
Let’s see…I’m originally from Gainesville, Florida (Go Gators!), did my
undergrad at Washington University in St. Louis, and moved to New York in 2005
to work in publishing. After learning that every English major in America wants
to work in publishing (not to mention the low pay and long hours), took a job at
a boutique Venture Capital and Consulting firm instead. I thought I’d be there
for a year, but stayed for six, doing marketing, communications, sales,
consulting and HR, and working with some of the coolest technology startups on
the plant. I loved the people, but it was a small company and I knew that I
would have to leave eventually. Given how much I had learned about Marketing
and Business, I started to think about business school and began sending out
applications. Instead of sitting around and waiting to hear back, my husband
and I decided to quit our jobs and travel the world for six months. We spent
three months in SE Asia, two months in Africa and one month in South America, and
arrived back in the states a week before I started at Rutgers. One of my funniest
memories of the trip was doing my Rutgers admissions interview on the trip via Skype.
I was in Vietnam at the time, staying in a hostel, without anything to wear for
an interview. Luckily, SE Asia is renowned for custom-made clothing, so found a
guy in an alley who promised me he could make me “a suit in a day,” and despite
the all-around sketchiness, he had a suit jacket and shirt ready for me an hour
before the call. I did the interview that night in an internet café wearing my
new suit jacket, shirt, ripped jean shorts and sandals :)
Where do you see yourself in
15 years?
Man oh man. Running my own company? Doing triathlons professionally? So
many options…Most likely, I’ll be in a senior marketing and communications role
at a large firm. I just accepted a position as an Associate Brand Manager at
Campbell’s Soup in August 2014, so that’s the first stop. In an ideal world,
I’d also like to be living and working internationally – maybe South America or
Australia? Though I might have to convince my husband first…
What is your favorite thing
about being an RBS student?
The camaraderie in our class is insane. When I looked at other business
schools, I was amazed and turned off by how competitive and cutthroat the
students were. At Rutgers, students work together– it’s not about cutting each
other down to get ahead. People are genuine and care about helping each other
(and the school). That’s what business schools should be like.
What did you think business
school was going to be like? What is it actually like?
I thought it was going to be really serious, stressful, and boring.
It’s not. It’s awesome. It’s undergrad, minus living across the hall from
everyone. Plus, there’s this sense of appreciation for being in school, because
most of us worked for a few years beforehand and we know that we’ll be back in
the “working world” in a short time.
What do you do for fun?
Travel, Travel and more Travel. I’ve lived on four continents, visited
37 countries, and have toyed with the idea of joining the Peace Corps more
times than I can count. I love sports, play soccer, and do races/triathlons.
Plus, I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie – skydiving, bungee jumping, swimming
with sharks – you name it, I’ve done it. When I’m not running around, I’m
hanging out with my husband and preparing for my first baby, due in January
2014!
Who is your favorite professor
and why?
I love me some Susan Mach (business communications) – she’s super nice, cares
about her students and really knows her stuff. Plus, with all the quantitative
classes first semester, I loved having the chance to write again. I’m also
enjoying Executive Leadership with Patti Ippoliti and Multicultural Markets
with Jerome Williams. Both are discussion-based,
interesting, and have taught me more about real-world issues I’ll be
encountering post-business school than my traditional core classes.
How did you land your summer
internship? How was it?
I got my internship with Campbell’s Soup by attending the NSHMBA career
fair during my first year at Rutgers. I didn’t apply to Campbell’s ahead of
time, but stopped by the booth, and just clicked with all the recruiters. I was
interviewed on the spot, and again the following day, and found out a week
later that I had the internship. The experience was incredible. I lucked out
with an amazing team and loved spending the summer with students from all over
the country. Plus, Campbell’s gives its interns incredible exposure to senior
leaders, and real, business-driving internship projects so it felt like my
contributions were making a difference. And, it never hurts working for a food
company – we had constant samples of Milano cookies, Goldfish, Pace Salsa, V8,
and the best part -- Free Soup Fridays!
What would you do
differently if you could repeat your first semester all over again?
I wouldn’t change a thing. I dropped Finance and it
was the best decision I could have made – it allowed me to concentrate on the
other classes I was taking (accounting and economics mostly) and just get used
to being in school again. I took Finance second semester when things were
calmer and I was settled in to the routine, and was much happier for it. Actually,
one thing I would do differently – bring my lunch more...no matter how long I’m
here, I will never understand why it takes so long to get food in the café.
