Innovision Spring 2019

18 | INNOVISION MAGAZINE What are some of your daily responsibilities? I am responsible for coordinating and attending community events in the Lehigh Valley to build new relationships and increase OAA’s presence in the community. I also make one-on-one contact with potential referral sources throughout the Lehigh Valley, such as physician groups and I provide educational information and materials that promote OAA’s orthopaedic services. Another duty of mine is to collaborate with marketing specialists to identify marketing opportunities to encourage referrals and increase brand awareness. What qualities do you think are most important to succeed at your position? In order to succeed at this position, I believe it is important to have a positive attitude, stay organized and be a great communicator. Teamwork is also very important for success. What have you learned on the job that you necessarily didn’t in the classroom? I have been learning and practicing public speaking and how to communicate with other professionals and potential clients in the community. We do learn about and work on communication skills in college, but I have learned even more now that I am working at OAA and am representing them when I am out in the community. It is so important to be courteous, well-prepared, knowledgeable and professional when building relationships with local organizations and community members of the Lehigh Valley. What led you into your field? What about it motivates and inspires you? I am passionate about sports and helping others. My goal was to work in community relations and/or marketing for a sports organization. OAA Orthopaedic Specialists has a Sports Medicine Institute, which I was familiar with because I play basketball and have been treated there for various injuries. I am very interested in Sports Medicine and love learning about all of the various specialties that are offered at OAA. It is awesome to be part of the marketing department and to help promote our incredible doctors in the community who are making a difference in the lives of so many people in the Lehigh Valley. What motivates and inspires me is hearing frommembers of the community about their great experiences with our doctors and knowing that our doctors are working hard to help so many people. Can you briefly describe your career path from being a student at KU up until now? I graduated from Kutztown University in December 2018 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sport Management. I started my new job with OAA Orthopaedic Specialists in January 2019. While at Kutztown, I completed a Community Relations Internship with the Philadelphia Freedoms World Tennis Team in summer 2018. My experience at Kutztown and my internship experience helped to prepare me for the job I have now. What do you look forward to the most when going to work each day? I look forward to learning something new each day and being able to share this knowledge with other members of the community in order to promote OAA and help people to get the best care that they can. What advice would you offer an undergraduate getting ready to enter the workforce? My advice is to be open-minded when job searching and to not be afraid to reach out to an organization that might not necessarily have a job posting up. Showing interest and passion can lead to new opportunities and/or connections. When you do start your first job, don’t expect to be perfect or to know everything right away. I think we can find ourselves feeling overwhelmed when we start a new job because we want to do everything right to make a good impression. When making a good impression, it is important that you have a positive attitude, ask questions and work hard. It will take time to become familiar with everything and everyone, so just take it one day at a time and do your best. SANDRA GEE ‘18 Sandra Gee graduated from Kutztown University in December of 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management. She is currently working as a Community Engagement Liaison at OAA Orthopaedic Specialists located in Allentown, PA. ALUMNI INTERVIEW