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ASB Students Take On LA

 

This post was written by Jillian Bjornstad, a business administration senior minoring in Japanese studies. Jillian is president of the Associated Students of Business (ASB), as well as president of the Native Alaskan Business Leaders (NABL).

During the 2020 spring semester, fellow SOM student Melinda Farmer and I had the opportunity to join the National Milliennial/Gen Z Community trip to Los Angeles, CA, thanks to our participation in the Associated Students of Business (ASB) student organization.

We departed the chilly city of Fairbanks on February 1 to reach sunny LA the following morning. The relatively light schedule for our first day included a secret team exercise. Most of us had no idea what to expect, so the group was pleasantly surprised by an immersive virtual reality experience at Dreamscape. While all the different adventures seemed interesting, my team got to try out the Alien Zoo experience, which had us working together to escape from a rogue alien. Later that day, we went to a comedy club in the Hollywood area to watch an improv show. I had never been to something like that and I really enjoyed it.

 

The next day is when things really got rolling! We visited ASV, a company that focuses mainly on experiential marketing. We saw some of ASV’s current projects and learned about their previous work. The group of students then participated in a dorm decoration competition, where we were split into various teams and each team was given $300. We had three hours to shop and decorate a dorm room set up by the company. Each group was assigned a “champion store,” where they were required to spend at least $200. My group’s store was Home Depot. Since Home Depot does not have much in the way of dorm decor, we sent half of the group to Walmart to pick up other items we wanted. In the end, my group tied with Melinda Farmer’s group, the Goodwill group. This was a fun experience and we all had to work together in a team of people we had barely met. The project tested our teamwork, budgeting, punctuality, and creativity skills all at once!

Another company that really stood out to me was Warner Brothers Pictures Entertainment. It was an experience just getting to visit. While we were waiting to enter, we were standing next to the line for filming of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which was a surreal experience. Warner Bros. really wanted to know about our screen time and what kind of apps we think are most important. It was a wide-ranging discussion. When I sent them my screen time, I didn’t know that the meeting leaders would ask, “Who was it that spent nearly 14 hours on TikTok?” Long story short – it was me.

After our Warner Bros. experience, we visited to Disney Imagineering. This was a long session that was structured as a focus group discussion. The Imagineers asked us questions about Disney theme parks and what we liked or did not like. It was a very real and honest conversation. Since I had never been to a Disney park, I couldn’t provide much input about what could be changed, but I did express what would motivate me to visit one.

 

The next day we visited Disney/ABC Television, where the company provided us with various tips on how to search for a job, and more specifically, how to search for a job at Disney. It was an eye-opening experience.

One of the most interesting companies we visited was Team One, an advertising/marketing agency. The company’s environment – an open concept office with shared spaces – was interesting and seemed very cool. It included a wall feature made of leaves and an open area where the whole office could gather for meetings – with old school bleachers for people to sit. Apparently, there is even a weekly yoga session!

On this trip, I learned not to underestimate myself. These trips really open my eyes to the rest of the world – or at least the rest of the country outside of Alaska – and inspire unexpected thoughts and ideas. While on the trip, I was snapping photos and people really liked them, so I was encouraged to start a new Instagram page for my photos. These experience encourage personal development and creativity, and I’m so grateful to the School of Management for the opportunity!