Picture of an AMA box at the UTRGV Campus
From campus connections to a national conference outside the state, a new student organization on the Brownsville campus has goals for upcoming semesters.
According to its website, the American Marketing Association, also known as AMA, is a national organization that connects marketers and academics with the people and resources they need to be successful.
Faculty Advisor and Clinical Assistant Professor of Marketing Karla Cantu serves as the adviser and mentor of the Brownsville chapter.
“You need to be a business major, so every business student is welcome. You don’t have to be just a marketing major. As long as you’re related to the business college, you can enroll,” Cantu said.
Cantu said the idea to bring the organization to Brownsville came to her since she was once a member of the AMA club in Edinburg as a student.
She added now that she is a professor, she noticed UTRGV had a chapter on the Edinburg campus but nothing on the Brownsville campus. She wanted to do something for her students on the Brownsville campus to feel more involved.
“They can feel like we have a club or a station to be involved in and that’s how the whole idea started,” she said. “The dean accepted and then I started recruiting students this fall.”
American Marketing Association Brownsville Chapter President Fernanda Ortiz said the club is working on growing its membership while preparing for a trip to Chicago this semester.
Ortiz said the club is still in the process of planning events and fundraisers. The student organization is looking for members who want to participate in volunteer hours and help the club raise money for the expensive trip.
“We are looking to have many fundraiser events, to contact outside sources, have local businesses who want to help us out, who we can volunteer with, who we can collaborate with to help us raise that goal for us to go,” Ortiz said.
She added the club wants to focus on engaging students on campus, creating study sessions and volunteer opportunities to build connections.
Ortiz said the club is also looking for ways to give back to the community and invite local professionals to share real-world business insight with students.
“If they can, you know, donate an hour or two of their time to come talk to any person who has questions regarding maybe unexpected things about opening a business or unexpected things about leasing.” Ortiz said.
American Marketing Association Brownsville Chapter Secretary Nissa de la Fuente said some of the club’s goals are to gain real-life experience, internships and a sense of belonging for new students.
De la Fuente said being part of the club during her first semester made her feel like she belonged to the UTRGV community.
She said she encourages students to step out of their comfort zones and take advantage of the opportunities AMA offers.
For more information about the AMA club, visit its Instagram @ama_brownsville or visit its V Link page.
