Senior Speaker 2020: Hilary Besson, Marketing

“I thrive on creating something from nothing,” observes marketing major Hilary Besson. An author and artist, Besson discovered early on at UMass that marketing was “the perfect fit” for her creative pursuits. In that, she notes, Isenberg’s Department of Marketing has given her much-valued support and flexibility. “I’m passionate,” she emphasizes, “about brand development strategies that connect companies, their products, and their services with consumers.” The key, she says, is forging honest connections through compelling stories and narratives. Nike, for example, offers powerful messages that include and transcend their products, she says. Those messages shine light on multiculturalism, feminism, and other social virtues.

In July, Besson will join Dell Computer in Hopkinton as a marketing analyst in a rotational program. While she is eager to learn about her future roles, she is already sold on the firm’s culture. “As a marketing intern at Dell last summer, I felt incredibly valued,” she recalls. (One of Besson’s interviewers was Tom Lytle, a 2006 Isenberg MBA grad who heads up the company’s social media initiatives.) “The firm gives its employees many opportunities for professional and personal growth,” continues Besson. “During my internship, I often said to myself: I’m doing things that matter. I’m expecting no less as a full-time employee.”

In a second marketing internship, with UMass Amherst’s Auxiliary Enterprises, coordinator of dining, lodgings, and many events on campus, Besson has gotten to know logistics, marketing analytics, and social media. But the Isenberg senior’s passion for creativity is far more diverse. She is a painter, videographer, photographer, and graphic designer. She is also author of a book of verse—Power in Words—that explores her own personal growth and coming of age. (You can buy it on Amazon.) One of her self-realizations: “You can create a positive personal narrative for yourself. Don’t let your environment control your mindset. You control it. Trust yourself!”