Students in Moraine Park’s Marketing and Social Media Management program applied their video editing skills and created 19 videos to promote local United Way agency partners in Fond du Lac, Washington and Dodge counties.

“The MPTC Community Resource Project Team was in the middle of planning an in person community resource/volunteer fair for each MPTC campus when COVID put a halt to our plans.  A new idea was how about doing it virtually?  We reached out to our Marketing and Social Media Management Instructor Sarah Ninmer, who was eager to have her Fall, 2020 students work on a service learning project.  Next we reached out to FDL, Dodge and Washington County United Ways to ask their agency partners who would like to make a video with our students?”  Anne Lemke, Student Community Impact Coordinator.

“Anne contacted me with her project needs and I was so excited our class could help her and the United Way Community. The students ended up dedicating over 160 hours of their time and gained valuable real-world experiences”. Sarah Ninmer, Moraine Park Marketing and Social Media Management Instructor.

Students learned so much from this project!

“Completing this project was a great way for me to use my skills to give back to my community as well as learn more about creating ads for small business. Overall, I loved this assignment and hope to get similar experience in other classes!” Emma H., Moraine Park Marketing and Social Media Management Student

“Overall, I feel that this project was successful in helping me improve my digital design skills and it opened my awareness to new opportunities in the community.” Peyton W., Moraine Park Marketing and Social Media Management Student

United Way partners are so pleased with the project results!

“Wow!!!  What a great job on the videos. Thank your students and teacher for us. I have gotten a lot of feedback from Arc members and they are loving it.”  Bernie Hafenstein, The Arc of Dodge County

“United Way is grateful to the students and faculty at MPTC for producing a video series.  Each video features a local nonprofit agency that is funded by United Way.  They highlight the great work being done every day by nonprofit agencies to help our residents in need.  United Way funded programs served over 15,000 individuals and families last year.  United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in our community #UnitingForceForGood.” Kristin Brandner, Executive Director, United Way of Washington County

On March 9, 2020, students in Sarah Ninmer’s Marketing and Social Media Management class presented their marketing and design plan for the ARC Fond du Lac to Executive Director Liz Morrell. Students worked on the plan throughout the spring semester as a service learning project, designing social media for facebook, instagram, and hulu. Students also created ideas for you tube, print ads and radio ads. Students explained the goals of the new plan for increasing donors, growing community involvement, recruiting volunteers, and promoting employment opportunities.

All marketing content was designed to encourage engagement and appeal to a broad audience. Liz told the students, “thank you so much for all this great work! I love your ideas and can’t wait to implement them. You are making my head spin with so much creativity!”

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            Moraine Park Technical College’s Business Practice Firm students made a generous donation to ASTOP this holiday season. The Business Practice Firm class is a required course for business-related Associate degree programs. This year, the class developed a Marker Art Gallery business, where they created homemade arts and crafts, and then sold them on campus. Ryan Burke of Fond du Lac, Kristina Faymoville of Fond du Lac, Alyxis Hall of Oshkosh, Mikayla Kirchner of Adell, and Elizabeth Raven of Fond du Lac, worked together to develop a full business model and manage the marketing, human resources, accounting, and production. 

“The Maker Art Gallery inspired creativity,” said Amy Harmsen, business practice firm instructor. “The students worked hard to create different options that would be attractive to a wide variety of people.”

The gallery sold items such as holiday wreaths, spray paint art, hair ribbons, and drawings. On December 20, the students presented ASTOP, a sexual assault service provider that serves Fond du Lac, Green Lake, and Waushara counties, with a check for $122, the full proceeds from their gallery.

“I’m proud of their work,” said Harmsen. “Not only did the students learn how to run a business, but they also helped to better their community in the process.”

For more information on Moraine Park, visit morainepark.edu.

The Business Practice Firm class requires students to explore the real business world within a classroom setting.

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 Wide Range of Career Options

 Marketing does not restrict you to one specific job. Jobs range from traditional marketing to social media management and content creation. New online jobs are declared regularly for both large and small businesses. This gives the student an additional benefit of being choosy about the kinds of work atmospheres.

New Technology

 The digital world is constantly changing. As a marketer, you will be learning new software, testing apps, utilizing innovative devices and implementing new technology within your marketing plans.

Flexible Work Atmosphere

Careers in marketing are flexible. Due to most functions being online, the workplace is not critical. You can often work from home since location does not matter.

Social Media

Jobs in social media are one of the coolest jobs around. You will be able to not only connect with consumers online but also create videos, posts, photography, live chats, etc. for multiple social channels.

Growing Job Market

All businesses ranging from large to small are investing in marketing. Digital jobs, like marketing, have projections of continued growth in the future.

Consumer Interaction

As a marketer, you will be talking with consumers either online or in person. This allows you to build relationships and help meet consumer needs, which is rewarding

Promotion Opportunities

An entry-level position can grow into a management position within just a few years of experience. Also, it is easy to horizontally move into other areas of marketing. If you start in advertising and prefer marketing analysis, you can make that move while giving the department the benefit of your experience.

Creativity and Innovation

 Marketing adds life to blogs and websites. This involves both creativity and analytics. Writing content and creating marketing plans demands imagination and innovative ideas.

Analytics and Research

Marketing also includes researching consumer trends and providing analytic results from multiple marketing channels. If you are a numbers person, marketing analytics and research specific careers are perfect for you.

Be a Rockstar

Being a marketer requires teamwork. The marketing team is at the forefront of innovation for the company. Successful campaigns will make you feel like a rock star since you have pioneered new technology and thinking within the organization.

Meet the mastermind behind our social media posts, Brooke Harmsen!

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What could be more hands-on than students working with local companies to fulfill their needs?

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“Hi, I’m Sarah Ninmer, Marketing instructor here at Moraine Park Technical College. I live in New Holstein with my husband of 17 years. Together we have a 10-year-old son and 20-year-old stepdaughter. We enjoy traveling and like to go to Florida almost yearly. I have a love for donkeys and volunteer at Holyland Donkey Haven located a few miles east of Fond du Lac. I have adopted a donkey named Russell.

I earned my Associate’s in Graphic Communications in 2000 and went on to earn my Bachelor’s from Lakeland University in 2004. I started my career as a Graphic Designer, working on packaging. I grew my skill sets by going back to school and taking digital courses and was promoted to Digital Services Manager. I chose this field because it’s creative, competitive and never the same. You will always be learning new marketing tactics, software systems or strategies.

Prior to coming to Moraine Park, I had been considering teaching. It worked out that I had the exact amount of work experience necessary to be able to effectively teach students about the marketing world. I have now been at Moraine Park for about 1 1/2 years, and it has been rewarding. The students have been so much fun to interact with and the best experience has been to see my students grow their skill sets. Many of them have marketing internships or part-time jobs already. It’s exciting to hear them talk about implementing what they have learned in the classroom to the real world.

My advice to those considering a marketing career? Every organization is in need of a marketing department and marketing is a vital part of business success. There are a lot of opportunities for job placement and growth within an organization. Marketing and Social Media Management requires creativity and the ability to adapt to new technology and embrace change, which makes this career exciting and never dull.”

For more information on Moraine Park’s marketing programs, visit morainepark.edu.

Sarah Spang graduated from Moraine Park twice!  Her determination to succeed and grow lead her to continuing her education with Ottawa University where she is pursuing a Master of Business Administration with a leadership development concentration.  She credits Moraine Park for helping her gain confidence and discover what she really wanted to do with her life.  Here’s Sarah’s story in her own words.
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