D6_02_JUN20_Direct_Guidebook_YUMPU_Oct20

SUCCESS
BUSINESS
STORY
Alumnus Diego Alejandro Ramos
Shares a Digital Engagement
Strategy for Success
Having worked as the brand manager of the second biggest alcohol company in his native Colombia for five years,
Diego Alejandro Ramos wanted to advance his career. To start, he turned to a friend who had attended a Canadian
college for advice. When she immediately mentioned Centennial College’s range of advertising and marketing
programs, Diego, armed with his advertising educational background and work experience, jumped into the research
process. He quickly settled on the school’s Marketing – Research and Analytics program. However, a 30-minute
conversation altered his educational goals and career path.
“When I met with the program coordinator, we had chat and 30 minutes into speaking with him, we decided to
change my program,” explains Diego, who graduated from the Marketing – Digital Engagement Strategy program in
2019. “When we examined my skills, we agreed that they better matched Digital Engagement, and I would have more
opportunities to develop my career with the skill set from that program. We changed my major, and my life.”
While the intimate and customized approach may have surprised Diego, it wasn’t the last time he encountered it
at Centennial. Because small class sizes are a staple of the one-year Marketing – Digital Engagement graduate
certificate program — which teaches students to analyze trends in technology, derive insights from data, design content
management strategies, and execute plans across media — Diego says he felt seen by his professors and the industry
professionals with whom he had opportunities to interact. This, in turn, resulted in better networking prospects.
“Our instructors motivated us to exchange contact information with people and to build a network,” says Diego,
who not only met professionals as guest speakers and at engagement opportunities, such as career fairs and agency
visits, but also through the program’s optional co-op component. “Putting your knowledge and experience
in action to do that and then getting a job in the field is something really special.”
Diego didn’t have to wait long to enter the job market —
he was hired by his co-op host before he even graduated.
Since last May, he has been the digital content manager
for AllCargos Tent & Event Rentals, a one-stop shop that
supplies event and party rental equipment. Diego says
that while digital marketing’s constant evolution requires
practitioners to be committed a never-ending learning
process, he still employs skills he gained at Centennial.
“From content creation and learning to understanding
and using Google Ads and Google Analytics, the tools I
received from Centennial prepared me for the challenge
of starting my career and I took it on confidently,” he
says. “Centennial gave me the opportunity to be part
of the Canadian workforce and without the College, I
wouldn’t have reached the goals I’ve reached now.”
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Success Story