University of Wisconsin Oshkosh journalism students were filled with anticipation as they waited to present their advertising campaign to alumnus David Rathsack ’12, of Brookfield, last week.
Students spent 14 weeks preparing the campaign for Rathsack’s client, Sauder Furniture, said Dana Baumgart, journalism instructor at UW Oshkosh.
Baumgart said alumni bring professionalism that connects well with teaching.
“The course teaches the basics of advertisement strategy,” she said. “It challenges students to work with a client and address real-world issues.”
Rathsack said pride in his alma mater inspired him to return to UW Oshkosh to work with students in Baumgart’s ad copy layout class.
“I like networking and mentoring,” he said. “I’ve always had an affinity with this campus.”
He stressed to the students that they should be prepared to work with people and rely on communication to achieve goals in the work environment. “There are inevitably some things you can’t learn in the classroom. That is part of the transition from college,” he said.
Rathsack said he was ready for the real-world upon graduation in 2012.
“I felt very prepared,” he said. “Being a marketing major in the College of Business with a minor in journalism created a nice combination of education and skill that helped me decide my career path.”
Since graduation, Rathsack has been working in marketing and advertisement.
“I started my career at Fullhouse Interactive,” he said. “I’ve gone through a buyout and a layoff before landing at Bader Rutter.”
Rathsack is an account executive at Bader Rutter, an independent business marketing agency in Milwaukee. His job requires him to manage projects and to be the day-to-day contact for clients.
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