How Student Leader Danielle Upham Transitioned Into a Marketing Career

While planning to move into a new field as a mother of young children, Danielle Upham '19 '21G said she was looking for a flexible college experience that would allow her to complete her coursework online. That's why she chose Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU).

"This was the best way for me to balance being a twin mom and being able to be an honor student," she said.

First, Upham earned a bachelor's in marketing with a concentration in social media marketing and graduated with a 4.0 GPA and highest honors — but she said she wanted to keep learning.

When she saw that SNHU offered a master's degree in marketing with a concentration in digital marketing, she decided to go for it to keep expanding her knowledge. "I wanted to have the whole umbrella," she said.

And while employment outcomes aren't guaranteed, Upham said her marketing degrees at SNHU helped her transition into a new career as a marketing manager.

"Previously, I was a therapist," she said. "These degrees have given me the opportunity to walk into my marketing management role with complete competency."

Growing Through Two Degrees in Marketing

Now, Upham said she uses what she learned in her classes at SNHU every day at work. Not only has she learned to create engaging content that appeals to a target audience, but she said she also learned about strategy, product development and other valuable skills.

"I know how to create a financial budget that can take products from concept to finished product," she said. "I know how to do competitive research to find the target market that is going to buy the product."

She also learned about marketing on a wide scale — even an international one.

"I’ve learned how to market globally, which is amazing because I can take a company nationwide and create a global plan for them just based off my education I’ve acquired," she said.

She noted that she was also grateful that she was able to take courses that prepared her for Google Analytics and HubSpot certifications.

"Both of my degrees exceeded my expectations," Upham said.

Student Involvement With Purpose

As a student, Upham said she was also a member of the Student Engagement Council (SEC) at SNHU, for both its tier one and tier two levels. "I was able to be on forums to discuss undergraduate courses and was able to be on a panel about the future of SNHU," she said.

She was also involved in an online leadership honor society.

"I’m an executive member of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS), where I turned my Better World Project into a cancer campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS)," she said.

The mission of her Better World Project was personal for Upham.

"I’m a stage four cancer survivor who once had to delay her college experience to fight cancer," she said. "The campaign for the LLS and NSLS was the perfect ending to my college career as it ran alongside my final semester."

Now embarked on her new career, Upham said enrolling at SNHU was the best decision she ever made.

"I went from someone who was introverted and shy to being able to co-host webinars," she said. "I have become everything I’ve been dreaming of since I was 16 at 33."

Mars Girolimon '21 '23G is a staff writer at Southern New Hampshire University where they earned their bachelor’s and master’s, both in English and creative writing. In addition to their work in higher education, Girolimon’s short fiction is published in the North American Review, So It Goes by The Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library, X-R-A-Y and more. Connect with them on LinkedIn.