Christie Clark was used to writing stories for others. After double majoring in acting and communications with an emphasis in advertising in her undergrad years, Clark went to work at a local advertising agency in Salt Lake City where she consulted clients on a variety of projects but never got to make the final call. “I realized that if I wanted to be on the other side of the table, I would need an MBA,” says Clark. So she turned to the BYU Marriott School of Business to aid her in this pursuit.
When Clark decided to go back to school, she followed in the footsteps of her father. “My dad was an MBA graduate from BYU Marriott. Looking at his example, I knew that it was something that had set him up for a really rewarding career,” says Clark.
Creating a rewarding career was exactly what Clark aimed to do when she entered the MBA class of 2016. While Clark chose to specialize in marketing, she made sure to expand her education outside of marketing classes to become a more well-rounded professional. “I received some really good advice when I was a second-year student in the program: consider classes that weren’t part of my specialty but that were taught by a professor who I wanted to learn from.”
So, focusing on the people, she took classes from outside the marketing track to learn from professors she admired and gain new perspectives. “It was fascinating to see how different components come together and how important it is to have a more holistic mindset if you’re going to be the best marketer or business-minded individual possible,” Clark says.
In 2016 Clark graduated from the program, took all of her newly gained knowledge, and moved to Texas where she landed a job at Frito-Lay. At the snack company, Clark currently works as the marketing director for the Stacy’s Pita Chips brand.
Now the decision-maker of her own team of marketing professionals, Clark brings her MBA and undergraduate degrees together to create engaging advertisements and collaborate with operations, finance, and research and development professionals. “It’s all tied together,” Clark says. “I love that I get to learn as we represent the voice of the consumer, the person who’s purchasing the product, as well as helping take that vision and that strategy and helping it come to life.”
In the MBA program at BYU Marriott, Clark learned the value of making decisions that are focused on people. Now, she uses the same strategy to grow in her career. “I have made a lot of career decisions that have seemed like horizontal movements. I have moved up in the company, but I focus more on projects that excite me and people I want to work with and learn from,” Clark shares. “I would advise anyone in my position to realize that who you work with is just as important, if not more important, than what you’re working on.”
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Written by Kacee Call
