As a member of the marketing team, I worked on a variety of different tasks throughout the semester, most of which revolved around deadlines for the journal. When the semester began for example, the submission deadline for this semester's edition was fast approaching. As a result, the marketing team aggressively worked in attempt to secure as many articles as possible before the deadline passed. The majority of the hours that I have accrued this semester with the journal were gained during that first phase of the semester, as the marketing team spent a lot of time tabling to inform students about the Journal of Student Leadership here at UVU. Tabling may not sound like the best use of time, but in my opinion, it is one of the most important things we do on the marketing team. The goal of the staff is to produce an academic journal of the highest possible quality. This means that we need to carefully and selectively consider which admissions we include in our publication. But, the fact is, in order to be selective, we have to maximize the chance of receiving high quality submissions. This is done in part by us on the marketing team, as we attempt to solicit as many submissions as we can. 

    After the article submission deadline for this semester passed, it was on to the art submission deadline. We decided that it would be in our best interest to contact the art department and inform the art majors of our journal, and what we would potentially be looking for in art submissions. I worked with Ian the marketing manager on this idea and compiled a comprehensive list of the contact information of all the faculty in the Art department so that we could reach out to them about the submission deadline. We also continued tabling, but now with an emphasis on art submissions. 

    These are just a few examples of the type of assignments that I had the privilege to work on as a member of the marketing team, and it has been a privilege. Although I do have to admit that at first, I did not enjoy tabling very much. The first time I did it I felt awkward, and was reluctant to talk to people out of fear that they would find me annoying or not be interested. This all changed however when I tabled with another member of the marketing team. He was extremely outgoing and friendly, and I saw as students responded to him with kindness, and often interest in what he had to say. I realized that being apart of the Journal of Student Leadership is something to be proud of, and as I stepped out of my comfort zone to advertise the journal, I found that many students were interested to learn more. There were even moments when more than one person would be interested at a time and people would wait for a turn to ask their question, or hear what I had to say.

    A takeaway from this experience is that you should always have pride in what you're doing, and be positive. The power of positivity cannot be underestimated. Other people can sense negativity and they will mirror what they feel. Similarly if you can be positive and proud of what you are a part of, other people will sense it, and they too will want to be apart of it. It can be summed up into two simple words: positivity pays.