Hope Life Skills Moves To East Providence

A 21st Century Marketing Forum

Stephen Cronin Opens “A 21st Century Marketing Forum” at East Providence High School on April 1, 2022

More than 30 students from East Providence High School, 2 student athletes from Providence College as well as 15 marketing professionals from a diverse number of companies came together on Friday, April 1, from 9:am to noon in the East Providence High School auditorium to discuss 21st century marketing strategies and tactics in a global marketplace as well as present students with several career opportunities related to the ‘marketing’ industry. The event was part of the College, Career, and Life program Stephen Cronin teaches as a volunteer at East Providence High School. He taught this same curriculum, as a volunteer teacher, at Hope High School for 18 years (www.hopelifeskills.com).

Marketing strategists, graphic designers, data analysts, web site architects, offset, digital, and large format print managers from companies like Fidelity Investments, CVS Health, Signature Printing, Giant Shoulders, Vector North America, MSCHF, Working Planet, Third Effect Marketing and Design, and Nunez -The People’s Agency entertained student questions as well as providing East Providence High School juniors and seniors with best marketing practices for creating, promoting, and exploiting student personal brands for lifetime success.

(left) Soren Ryherd, Co-Founder and President of Working Planet;  (center) Nick DeCesare, President of Third Effect Marketing and Design;  (right)  Anna Barcelos, Director of Marketing Vector North America.

The Marketing Panel provided students with a contemporary definition of ‘marketing, descriptions of marketing related careers, and a fundamental marketing strategy for promoting and protecting student PERSONAL BRANDS, especially on social media, in order to build a NETWORK of successful, influential people who can provide them advice and support as they prepare to compete in a global markplace for career and successful lives.  The marketers also entertained student questions about their career paths, from challenges and opportunities, as well as ‘PERSONAL BRAND marketing strategies and the life long value and importance of ‘NETWORKS’.  The Marketing professionals attempted to instill a feeling of empowerment among the students, inspiring them to be confident to push out of their comfort zones to ask questions, meet new people from diverse backgrounds with diverse interests for NETWORKS of successful, ethical, influential people.

The FORUM also provided a ‘CREATIVE THINKING’ exercise where the Marketing Professionals facilitated small group ‘COLLABORATIONS’ among students to invent or create a ‘saleable‘ product or service to present to the Marketing Panel for their feedback and their market strategy for promoting the student product or service.

Dan Paquette, Vice President of Sales at Signature Printing, outlines best practices for effective ‘collaborations’ as students collaborate to create a product or service to sell to customers
(standing left) Steve Etchells: Vice President of Social Media Technology Optimization at Fidelity Investments and Jude AmoakoDirector of Partnerships at Nuñez, The People’s Agency, providing Print Design, Logo Design, Brand Design, Advertising, Brand Consulting, Graphic Design, Web Design, Package Design, Illustration, collaborate with students for their new service or product to sell.

(standing left) Andrew Fontes and (right standing) Jared Bynum, both members of the Providence College Mens 2021-2022 Basketball team, collaborate with their student group to create their service or product to sell.
one of the East Providence High School students presents his groups “product” to the Panel of Marketing Experts for their feedback and suggestions for marketing their product in a 21st century global marketplace.

Marketing professionals at the FORUM included Ali DeCesare, project manager and producer at MSCHF (mschf.xyz), a marketing art and product collaborative creating “curiosity, mischief and profit in the global marketplace”; Steve Etchells: Vice President of Social Media Technology Optimization at Fidelity Investments; Dan Paquette: Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Signature Printing; Josh Connors: Director of Digital Operations at CVS Health; Ly Nguyen: Lead Programmer, Signature Printing; Vega Montanez: Film & Television Director and CEO of Coin Theory Media; Tino Chow: Founder and President of Giant Shoulders, an agency helping mission-driven companies create larger impact using design thinking, storytelling, and branding; Jude Amoako: Director of Partnerships at Nuñez, The People’s Agency, providing Print Design, Logo Design, Brand Design, Advertising, Brand Consulting, Graphic Design, Web Design, Package Design, Illustration, Fernando Perez, data analyst at CVS Health, Soren Ryherd, President of the digital marketing company, Working Planet, and Nick DeCesare, graphic artist, web site designer, marketing strategist and the President of Third Effect Marketing and Design. The Providence College student athletes who participated in the event as collaboration facilitators were Jared Bynum and Andrew Fontes, both members of Providence College’s exceptional men’s basketball team during the past season.

The Marketing Forum concluded with a networking lunch among participating East Providence High School students and the visiting marketing professionals in the school’s Cafe. The delicious lunch was provided by East Providence High School students enrolled in the school’s Culinary Program.

The College, Career, and Life program is a class at East Providence High School focused on building student self-esteem, introducing concepts like Personal Branding, Change Management, Leadership, Storytelling, and Success and the complementary skills of networking, collaboration, creativity, time management, critical thinking, problem solving, job interviewing and resume writing as well as expanding career horizons of what’s possible.

For more information about this class, please check the web site – www.hopelifeskills.com or contact Nick Shattuck, the Proficiency Based Graduation Coordinator at East Providence High School or Stephen Cronin at scronin@signatureprinters.com or 401-374-7603.

Photographs were from the April 22, 2022 edition of the East Providence Post taken by photographer Richard Dionne Jr. (eastbaymediagroup.com)

 

 

 

 

 

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