Welcome to the Jordan Metzman story...
"Somewhere between kale, a cronut, a college student, & a DC enthusiast."
I’ve always dreamed of being a blogger, but I was always too scared to take the leap and publish my thoughts online. The second I stepped into the Smith School the idea of edge was thrown at me- what makes me special, what are my talents? The only way I knew I could apply this was by sucking it up and starting a internet blog IRL (in real life) to figure it out. Not like educational, sophisticated blogging, but lifestyle entries about my passions, interests, and experiences. My intent was to learn more about the marketing world, where I want to end up, from marketing myself. The first post I wrote was about developing my personal edge, and how blogging about my life would help me figure out who I want to be, where I want to go, and how I’m going to get there. At the moment, my number one fan is my mom, but hopefully one day I’ll be able to apply the marketing skills I’ll be learning at Smith with the love I have for exploring and creating and something really powerful and interesting will come out of it.
If you clicked my link right now you would see that I can be expressed in one simple phrase that stands as my signature bio- “Somewhere between kale, a cronut, a college student, & a DC enthusiast.”
Let me explain- I found my love for healthy eating and exercise late in high school and since then I’ve used it as motivation in all aspects of my life. I find that a clear mind and healthy heart only serve to reinforce academic achievement, something I also value deeply. It also takes creativity and dedication to beat the odds of burning out and eating ten thousand cookies, forcing me to flex my muscles, both literally and figuratively, and play with some problem solving. Moving on, I’m obviously a college student and I’ve learned a lot about independence in the last semester, as well as the value of time management and consistency. My time in BMGT289B has forced me to reevaluate my priorities and seek new resources. I’ve gained new insights about business strategy and innovation framework and was able to observe and apply them. Lastly, DC has always been a big source of motivation and inspiration for me- it’s where I want to end up and where I want to establish myself. The history and power of the city is incredible, and the up-and-up trend of certain areas holds so much potential, all it needs is an idea and some action.
Much like blogging, which constitutes much observation and dedication, I’ve been a social media intern at a DC Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant called Cava Grill for about a year and a half now, and I’ve been exposed to a whole different side of marketing than ever before. I’m a huge social media girl, I have accounts on almost every platform, and while I may not be an active poster, I always scope out the scene and invest in myself by learning the tricks and trades of the site. My top apps, being Instagram and Snapchat, are focused on marketing oneself and projecting their image of choice- for me, that’s centralized around food, friends, and the city. I'm also really into iPhone photography, obsessing over VSCO (a photosharing app) is basically my full time job, and everything else I do is just on the side. That's why I've decided to include only my own photos in my PCR, because I want it to reflect my own personal work and use it as an opportunity to display some photos I'm really proud of.
At my internship I work with Snapchat by sourcing recipes for series and tracking competitors accounts for inspiration, displaying the results in bi-weekly updates. I also work with Pinterest to maintain seasonal boards, sourced from blogs that align with the company’s healthy lifestyle branding, and find images that serve as examples for future photoshoots. I fill donation requests to give back to the community and document outreach for location openings. While a lot of what I learn comes from experimenting and experience, a large amount also comes from observing my mentors and watching them create. The best part of working in the Cava Grill headquarters is the passion and drive that radiates from the marketing team- we all live and breathe for the product and passionately work to make others feel the same way. There’s no disconnect between personal and brand ideology, it’s all one hundred percent all the time. My internship has helped me in BMGT289B because it has allowed me to apply the many frameworks discussed in class to something so close to my heart, thus reinforcing the ideas.
This PCR and my blog posts are practically siblings- both project my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Except I feel like this PCR might have a little less teenage girl angst than my latest post.
The significance of this PCR is it’s power of application along all aspects of what they’ve learned, encouraging me to pursue a greater purpose than simply getting an education. It’s no longer just about As and GPAs, it’s about synthesizing information and seeking out its relevancy in my life. If there’s one thing to take away and memorialize from this class it’s that innovation is a process, not a miracle. It doesn’t take a genius or a gift or a lightning strike to happen, it just takes an idea, a team, and a whole lot of hard work.
Oh, and BMGT289B is really helpful, too.
If you clicked my link right now you would see that I can be expressed in one simple phrase that stands as my signature bio- “Somewhere between kale, a cronut, a college student, & a DC enthusiast.”
Let me explain- I found my love for healthy eating and exercise late in high school and since then I’ve used it as motivation in all aspects of my life. I find that a clear mind and healthy heart only serve to reinforce academic achievement, something I also value deeply. It also takes creativity and dedication to beat the odds of burning out and eating ten thousand cookies, forcing me to flex my muscles, both literally and figuratively, and play with some problem solving. Moving on, I’m obviously a college student and I’ve learned a lot about independence in the last semester, as well as the value of time management and consistency. My time in BMGT289B has forced me to reevaluate my priorities and seek new resources. I’ve gained new insights about business strategy and innovation framework and was able to observe and apply them. Lastly, DC has always been a big source of motivation and inspiration for me- it’s where I want to end up and where I want to establish myself. The history and power of the city is incredible, and the up-and-up trend of certain areas holds so much potential, all it needs is an idea and some action.
Much like blogging, which constitutes much observation and dedication, I’ve been a social media intern at a DC Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant called Cava Grill for about a year and a half now, and I’ve been exposed to a whole different side of marketing than ever before. I’m a huge social media girl, I have accounts on almost every platform, and while I may not be an active poster, I always scope out the scene and invest in myself by learning the tricks and trades of the site. My top apps, being Instagram and Snapchat, are focused on marketing oneself and projecting their image of choice- for me, that’s centralized around food, friends, and the city. I'm also really into iPhone photography, obsessing over VSCO (a photosharing app) is basically my full time job, and everything else I do is just on the side. That's why I've decided to include only my own photos in my PCR, because I want it to reflect my own personal work and use it as an opportunity to display some photos I'm really proud of.
At my internship I work with Snapchat by sourcing recipes for series and tracking competitors accounts for inspiration, displaying the results in bi-weekly updates. I also work with Pinterest to maintain seasonal boards, sourced from blogs that align with the company’s healthy lifestyle branding, and find images that serve as examples for future photoshoots. I fill donation requests to give back to the community and document outreach for location openings. While a lot of what I learn comes from experimenting and experience, a large amount also comes from observing my mentors and watching them create. The best part of working in the Cava Grill headquarters is the passion and drive that radiates from the marketing team- we all live and breathe for the product and passionately work to make others feel the same way. There’s no disconnect between personal and brand ideology, it’s all one hundred percent all the time. My internship has helped me in BMGT289B because it has allowed me to apply the many frameworks discussed in class to something so close to my heart, thus reinforcing the ideas.
This PCR and my blog posts are practically siblings- both project my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. Except I feel like this PCR might have a little less teenage girl angst than my latest post.
The significance of this PCR is it’s power of application along all aspects of what they’ve learned, encouraging me to pursue a greater purpose than simply getting an education. It’s no longer just about As and GPAs, it’s about synthesizing information and seeking out its relevancy in my life. If there’s one thing to take away and memorialize from this class it’s that innovation is a process, not a miracle. It doesn’t take a genius or a gift or a lightning strike to happen, it just takes an idea, a team, and a whole lot of hard work.
Oh, and BMGT289B is really helpful, too.