• Critical Thinking.

• Communication.

• Confidence.

• Networking.

• Problem solving.

• Professionalism.

• Empathy.

• Patience.

After high school, I plan on attending a 4-year university and study Business Marketing or Communications. I hope to become a Marketing Manager/Specialist and oversee marketing campaigns, promote products, develop brand identities, and more. With a marketing degree, I can also pursue a career in public relations, advertising, and the media industry in general.

I am Co-Editor-In-Chief for the Montrose High School Yearbook and I'm a member of LULAC and National History Day. In Yearbook, I write stories, create layouts, and more. In LULAC, I do community service, and in NHD, I create historical documentaries. I also have experience competing for Future Business Leaders of America. Through these activities, I've learned crucial information about journalism, digital communications, business, and teamwork. 

Q1: What is your name?

A1: Rebecca Schwerdtfeger 

Q2: What is your profession?

A2: I am a CTE teacher which means Career and Technical teacher and I teach digital arts and media communications.

Q3: What was your major in college?

A3: My majors were Journalism and Spanish and then after that, I have a master's in educational leadership. I have an EDD specialist in literacy with an emphasis on dual language literacies and I have a TESol certificate graduate certificate.

Q4: So what has your marketing or communications experience been like in the past?

A4: In the communications field, I have experience in graphic design for our sign shop. So I did graphic design in that element. And then I also worked for a company in New York, online from Colorado and I would moonlight and create social media messaging and other types of messaging in order to support larger organizations in New York and Syracuse, Rochester, etc.

Q5: How would you explain the difference between working in a place like Syracuse or Rochester vs a place like Montrose?

A5: Well, since I was working online, from Montrose, it was really difficult for me to work for New York because we were two hours ahead. And so I think that early on in my life, I would have loved to be a part of that rat race. I had wanted to be a publisher and editor at a publishing company, and my husband didn't want to be in a large city. So now that I have lived my life and midsize and smaller towns, it's been a it's been a nice life. It was a compromise, but I think I would have enjoyed that fast paced as far as the industry is concerned.

Q6: What are the struggles of the job in this sort of field?

A6: The struggles of the job, probably I would say, is breaking in. You have to have the right experiences. You have to not be afraid to put yourself out there every moment of every day and not be afraid of that. You don't have to be aggressive, but just friendly and welcoming and know that every conversation you have might lead to a possibility in the future. I think that applies to every field but especially in marketing, just just keep being a friendly presence and then people will want you around.

Managing Stress and Pressure: acting professionally and having patience when interacting with others, maintaining composed when frustrated with self, taking responsibility when there's an error, finding solutions and making backup plans.

Working Collaboratively: working well with others, cooperating and taking constructive criticism from others, offering respect and kindness to peers, manage groups or teams efficiently to ensure success. 

Initiative: taking action to improve a situation without waiting for instructions every time, using outside-of-work time to find new and improved techniques, solutions, and approaches, and initiating conversations with others.