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| Photo courtesy of The Intrepid |
Named one of twenty finalists for the award, Kosakowski, a journalism and mass communication and integrated marketing communications dual-degree major, sat down with The Intrepid’s Features Editor Maddie Gionet, @MaddieGNA, for a Q&A.
Gionet: How does it feel to be the first Bonaventure student to be honored in this way?
Kosakowski: It’s such an honor. Not only as an individual but also as part of the Bona community that makes up AAF. This shows that Bonaventure can be nationally recognized for its students’ hard work.
Gionet: Can you give a little bit of your story? How did you get to the place you are now? When did you decide you wanted to do advertising?
Kosakowski: I wanted to go into PR since I was little. I came to SBU as a junior in high school and fell in love with the campus and the journalism school. My freshman year, I heard about the IMC program, got some information and decided I’d stay on a fifth year to do the program. And then last year, when I was in professor (Michael) Jones-Kelley and professor (Shelley) Jack’s advertising campaign class, I realized I no longer wanted to do PR but advertising instead. I liked controlling the message and controlling what outlets the message was sent out of.
Gionet: How did you come up with the personal tagline “Made in Korea. Imported to America. Branded Polish?”
Kosakowski: I struggled with it. It’s so easy to come up with a tag for a brand, but it’s much harder when you’re doing it for yourself. I was actually sitting in the basement of Francis, doing laundry with some friends and my mixed heritage of being born in South Korea, adopted and brought to America when I was six months old and then growing up Polish came up in conversation. Each ethnicity emulates the values I live by and then the marketing jargon speaks to what I want to do in the future.
Gionet: What are some of the most beneficial things you have learned to help you excel in IMC and AAF?
Kosakowski: All the writing skills the J school teaches, the cases from the media ethics class — they’re all building blocks I’ve used ever since I learned them. The concepts carry through whether I’m in AAF or IMC. They help get the message across; they help with the planning side of things; they help with everything.
Gionet: Who has helped you the most to get to where you are today?
Kosakowski: I don’t think I can choose one person. All the professors I’ve come across here at school have taught me something and helped me achieve my goals. The J school professors, the IMC professors and some of the business professors have shown me it’s OK to dream as big as I want.
Gionet: What is one thing in advertising you struggle with?
Kosakowski: Being creative. I’m much more strategic than creative. It’s hard for me to go out on a whim. I’m always over thinking things.
Gionet: What advice can you give to students who want to work hard and want to make a name for themselves?
Kosakowski: Always try. Always keep your head held high. Take criticism with a grain of salt, and never let anyone tell you no. I believe that every one of us here at St. Bonaventure is the future of whatever industry we decide to get into which means we can exceed all boundaries.
Gionet: What are your hopes for your future?
Kosakowski: To have a job. I dream of working for an established ad agency, but as long as I’m happy, I really don’t care what agency I work for. As long as I’m immersed in the advertising industry, I’ll be happy.
To read St. Bonaventure’s press release on Kosakowski, click here: http://www.sbu.edu/About_News.aspx?id=37219
The Intrepid, 2011
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