This month, the Department of Marketing spotlights Julia Givens—a student marketing professional!
Julia Givens is a senior studying Marketing with an emphasis in Advertising & Promotions here at Missouri State. Originally from St. Louis, MO, Julia has plans to move to Indianapolis, IN After graduating in May 2023. Julia started an internship with GEICO last summer and since then, has been offered a full-time position in the GEICO claims department.
Shortly after graduation from MSU, she will start her training in GEICO’s management development program to eventually become a claims supervisor. We were so impressed by Julia’s journey at GEICO that we decided to interview her to learn more about the position and pick-up on some advice that she might have for other students in marketing. Here’s what she had to say:
Q. Why did you decide to apply for an internship with GEICO?
“I applied to GEICO’s business leadership and management internship because I met with them virtually during last year’s career fair and was immediately interested in what the internship had to offer.”
“I initially hadn’t considered insurance wasn’t as a field of interest, but during the Zoom meeting, everything the college recruiter was talking about sparked my interests when it came to the leadership side of things. I’ve been in previous management roles. So, I wanted to get experience in an industry I didn’t know anything about, and try something new within the leadership field.”
Q. What did you do in that position?
“Being an intern at GEICO consisted of a variety of different roles. A lot of the internship was shadowing people of different positions within the different departments (sales, customer service, claims, and auto damage) and scheduling meetings with our mentors and different supervisors and management while working on assigned projects. Throughout the 8 weeks, we had 3 different group projects. Our first project was partnered with GEICO Cares, where our group chose a local non-profit organization in Indianapolis, IN and talked about why GEICO Cares should donate money to that organization and how that company aligns with GEICO’s values.”
“Our second project was taking on the task of how to improve communications within the company from the corporate level down to regional and local office employees. For our third and final project, each group was assigned a department specific charter. My group’s charter was about a pilot program GEICO is trying out where one agent can handle multiple department related issues on one phone call. Instead of clients having to be transferred back and forth between sales and service, etc. everything would be taken care of on one phone call. Each of the projects and presentations involved us presenting to a group of 50-100 people who hold regional and corporate level management positions within the company.”
Q. What was your favorite part about your internship?
“My favorite part about the internship would have to be that it took place in Indianapolis, IN and I got the opportunity to travel to a new city I had never been to. This was totally out of my comfort zone, as I originally thought the internship was in Kansas City, which I’m familiar with. It was a great experience being able to live in a new city for the summer where I didn’t know anybody and got to meet amazing people in and outside of work.”
Q. How has the internship shaped you?
“This internship shaped me in the fact that it truly taught me to keep an open mind no matter where I end up. When I first started this internship and as we went about the first two weeks, I thought there was no way I would stick with it and this internship wasn’t for me. I told myself to push through it and see where it takes me. As the summer went on, we dove deeper into the departments, and I found myself enjoying learning about management and leadership strategies in a corporate setting and how I can carry those skills with me for the rest of my life.”
Q. What are your plans post-graduation?
“After graduation I plan to move to Indianapolis, IN. I was offered a full-time position with GEICO’s management development program in the claims department. This program ranges from a year to year and a half training where I will learn the ins and outs of the claims department. Once I graduate from this training, I will be in a supervisor or manager role at some level of the claims department.”
Q. Do you have any advice for younger students looking to gain professional experience?
Get to know all your professors on a personal level. Many professors who know students on a personal level, will keep an eye out on internships of regarding the student’s interest and recommend employers to students or vice versa and employers will reach out to the students. Utilize HandShake and other resources offered by the College of Business and apply for any and all internships that spark your interests. You never know where an internship and experience opportunity will take you, even if it’s not 100% what you want to do. Build your network and good connections with peers in your classes and anyone you meet. You never know who will know who or where anyone will end up and they will be a helpful resource later down the road.”
Thank you much for meeting with us, Julia! We look forward to keeping up with your endeavors and seeing what other students have to share about their experiences with the Department of Marketing.