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Many of you know AMA Baltimore as a comprehensive resource and member organization for marketing professionals. Did you know that supporting undergraduate students was part of our mission?

Each year a committee of AMA members reviews applications from outstanding students.  Based on a rigorous set of criteria, three students are selected to receive a monetary scholarship to support their studies in the marketing profession. The amounts of the awards are determined by a number of factors. AMA accepts donations to support this endeavor.

In addition to scholarships, AMA Baltimore also holds workshops for students like the one mentioned below by Afnan Idris, AMA student member from Salisbury University. This month, we asked Afnan to reflect on her experience with AMA Baltimore.

For more information about ways you can help AMA Baltimore Chapter support student success, please contact Julia Golbey, VP for Collegiate Relations at jgolbey@jhu.edu.

Thanks, Afnan!

Reflections on the AMA Baltimore Chapter Student Offerings by Afnan Idris, Student Member:

Getting a job after graduation these days seems to be like more of a miracle than an expectation. With so many graduates and so few jobs, students are under immense pressure to exhibit their skills and ability to stand out in a crowd. Many employers tend to head to larger universities for recruiting in hopes to solicit the best students. This leaves students from smaller universities like Salisbury over two hours away from Baltimore, at a slight disadvantage. And it’s here that AMA offered me the most.

Once I became a member with AMA, I got the opportunity to be Student Liaison, a great satellite internship position that connected me with schools like College Park, Morgan State, and Towson University to name a few. I’ve met and worked with dozens of other marketing students across Maryland who have the same passions I have. We even got the chance to meet up at an amazing collegiate conference in New Orleans last March!

AMA Baltimore gives student members free access to webinars that helped me stay current on marketing trends and gives me loads of professional content to build my online presence via Twitter or LinkedIn. The AMA also offers over $3,000 in scholarships, and access to important job fairs and reputable internships exclusively for AMA student members.

But the best benefit by far is the networking opportunities at the Student Workshop. Thanks to this annual event, I have relationships with executives and recruiters from companies like Under Armour, McCormick, General Mills, T. Rowe Price and even the Ravens! The event gave me access to these established marketing professionals who willingly offered advice, career coaching and mentoring that were otherwise unavailable to me. AMA has definitely equipped me with the tools, network and skills needed to establish a point of difference, and is directly responsible for the success that I have had thus far in my undergraduate marketing career.

Afnan Idris is currently pursuing a dual major in marketing and information systems, with a minor in Spanish at Salisbury University. Afnan’s anticipated graduation date is May 2013. Outside of the classroom, Afnan serves as AMA Baltimore’s Student Liaison and AMA Salisbury’s Professional Development Chair.