Lessons from a Graduating Senior – Ali Bateman

This blog was contributed by Ali Bateman, a graduating senior in Retail and Entrepreneurship

Many of my close friends have been less than happy with me for continuing to bring up the fact that graduation is looming. It is so exciting and so scary all at the same time. Graduation on the horizon signifies an end to a chapter in my young adult life. Purdue has been the best thing that has ever happened to me; it has helped me to grow as an individual. Though there have been disappointments and heartbreaks( that test your character) , there have been just as many opportunities and occasions, one of those being my current job at Purdue. I work as a Licensing Assistant, but that title doesn’t begin to cover it all.

With me ending my almost three year relationship with my first real industry internship, I’ve been tasked with the responsibility to train potential new hires. This has been one of the most rewarding things I have done in my line of work. I get to see and work with some incredibly talented students. I get to hear about their lives and see their passions. I also get to share my story. Something I have found to be incredibly valuable to these individuals is that they like to see the human side to business. They appreciate the honest nature and story that I am where I am today simply because I put myself out there and had a “complete train-wreck” (pun intended-for all my boilermakers).

I had the chance to transform my love of intellectual property from engineering to branding, and found much more success.

A little background about me, I started here as a Chemical Engineer (train-wreck waiting to happen, hats off to all my ChemEs out there ) but will graduate as a Retail and Entrepreneurship major. I had the chance to transform my love of intellectual property from engineering to branding, and found much more success. I started in branding at Purdue and went from there. I’ve been a part of a few start-ups but have also done the corporate thing. I had the opportunity to spend the past two summers in New York as a Corporate Sales Account Intern, making my way from Nike, Levi and Converse Children to a fashion house on the Saks and Bloomingdales Accounts. This past school year I’ve also assumed a small brand ambassador role for Amazon @ Purdue. In short, I’ve been fortunate in the realm of real-world experience.

All of my endeavors have to be credited back to the people I’ve met and what I’ve learned along they way. People are truly what make the world move forward.

After graduation, I will be moving to New York and have committed to working with Tom James Company as a Professional Clothier and Wardrobe Consultant on Wall Street.

I’ve failed and I’ve taken nonconventional turns, but those instances have led me to where I am today and I couldn’t be more grateful or true to those experiences.

Best of luck and
Boiler Up!

-Ali B.