November 7, 2023, 12:00 p.m. EST
Jessica Joseph, Director of Commercial Strategy for the New York Time’s WireCutter, joins Hunter to talk all things green: from advice for young professionals on money management to connecting to her family roots while gardening during the pandemic. She reflects on her time in advertising, the joys of teaching, and the lasting impact the Emerson community has on her personal and professional relationships. Recorded August 25, 2023.
Transcript: Season 7, Episode 3
Jessica Joseph
Speaker 1:
What does it mean to make it big? Well, it depends on who you ask, and we did. Welcome to Making It Big in 30 Minutes, a podcast for by and about the Emerson community. You're about to meet an Emersonian who's making it, making a living, making a difference, and sometimes making it up as they go. As far as we are concerned, if you are making something, you've made it big time. We know you'll enjoy hearing our host, Hunter Reis from the class of 2017, and all of our guests share how Emerson shaped their lives and careers after graduation. So let's get into it.
Hunter Reis:
Jessica Joseph studied marketing communications at Emerson and now works on building meaningful purpose-driven brands. Her expertise is deep-rooted, having found her community at Emerson through Ebony. Now 10 years after graduating in 2013, Jessica joins us from her home in South Florida where she works as the director of commercial strategy for Wirecutter, owned by the New York Times. Welcome to Making It Big in 30 Minutes. This is Jessica Joseph in making it as a marketing strategist. Hi Jessica. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Jessica Joseph:
Thank you, Hunter. I'm happy to be here.
Hunter Reis:
So if you could just explain your job right now in one sentence, what would that be?
Jessica Joseph:
I currently am the director of commercial strategy for Wirecutter, and my job is essentially to help Wirecutter grow their business by coming up with great ideas for how to increase our revenue.
Hunter Reis:
That's amazing. And you've only been there for what, less than a year now, right? Seven months or something?
Jessica Joseph:
So this position, seven months. So previously I've been at Wirecutter for about two and a half years now. I started out as a director of marketing. Marketing is my primary background, but I recently shifted my role into this area and realm of commercial strategy because there's an opportunity within the business for me to really help them grow and it goes beyond marketing and into different avenues. So this is a new role that I'm in, but I've been with the company for a while.
Hunter Reis:
That's great. That's great. So you were there for about two years before this role. How did that journey go from being a marketing director to a director of commercial strategy? What was that like?
Jessica Joseph:
Yeah. And that's okay, we don't have to pretend like everybody knows what commercial strategy is. It's kind of a new area. It was a big transition all around for me personally. I've been in the adult working world now for over 10 years, and a lot of my experience was primarily on the advertising and marketing side. I graduated in marketing and advertising at Emerson. So a lot of my experience though was on the advertising agency side. And so even making the transition to being on the brand side from being on an agency was huge for me, and a lot of my identity was tied up in being an advertising strategist.
But I just wasn't as fulfilled in the role as I used to be. I felt like a lot of times there were so many great ideas that I had, but they were required money and funding that either people weren't willing to spend or that it just couldn't justify it because it wasn't making money for the business or what have you. So for me, moving into the realm of being a commercial strategist where my role is essentially to help grow revenue through big, fun, exciting ideas and opportunities, it really felt like one, a nice transition for me to get towards bigger, broader goals of maybe being a CMO or a CEO one day, but it also was like me leaving a huge part of my professional identity behind. But it's been great and I'm enjoying it.
Hunter Reis:
That's amazing. And that's actually something that I wanted to talk about. You're a director there, which is a pretty high level. You see the title director in a lot of different fields, a lot of different businesses. Can you talk about maybe for some students who are just starting their career or someone who's a couple years into their career, what's advice you have for somebody who really wants to go that next step and the step after that to become a director?
Jessica Joseph:
Yeah. Oh my gosh, I have so much to say about that. First I'll say that it's interesting, right? Because I think a lot of us, especially if you're between the ages of graduating college, what, 21 and maybe 35, so much of life, especially in the US and if you're in New York or LA, so much of it is about survival and making money. So I think a lot of times when people look at jobs or are trying to make that next move, the money is always the motivation more often than not. If you have the luxury of being able to go after something that's purposeful for you, that's amazing. But for the most part, a lot of us are just trying to pay that rent, not going to lie. So I think for me, while I did make a lot of moves in my career that were about doing something that I enjoyed, a lot of times it was making moves that made money.
And especially when it comes to going in that next career ladder, you're really like, "Okay, how can I maximize my next paycheck?" But once you get into the role of being a director or even a senior manager, it requires leadership. I've had great mentors that have really helped push me as a leader, helped challenge me as a leader. But one of the biggest things I learned is that you don't push yourself into leadership if you're not ready to be responsible for the growth of not only the work that you have to do, but the work of other people. That's the biggest, biggest thing, but it's so fulfilling once you do.
Hunter Reis:
Wow. Yeah, that's great. Is there one or maybe an important personality trait or skill that a person should have that would make them a more effective manager or people manager?
Jessica Joseph:
Me personally, my approach to people management is I always lead from a mentorship standpoint. I'm not the person that's going to micromanage or get down to the tactics of day-to-day type of work. The greatest managers that I've had were the ones that allowed me to just figure things out for myself. They give me a nice template or a nice playground and sandbox for me to play in, and then you just kind of figure out how you want to structure things for yourself and they guide you along the way. So that's definitely one way I approach it. The other thing, and especially today, it's empathy.
Again, I go back to the fact of when it comes to being a leader, you have to be ready to be responsible for someone else's development. You're dealing with other humans, and so you want to have compassion. You want to be mindful of the things that they have going on in their own lives. You want to be cognizant of the things that motivate them and how it might be different from what motivates you. Somebody else might be motivated by receiving awards and recognition while someone else might be more motivated by just simply feeling like they're part of a team. And so I would say those are the core skills that you have to build is that ability to have empathy for people and high emotional intelligence to understand people at a deeper level.
Hunter Reis:
Wow. Yeah, that's amazing. I feel, especially since the Covid era and in 2021, in particularly when we started going back to work, back into the office work-life balance has really changed, and people want to see that, and people want to have that healthy balance. And that's something that I've definitely noticed over the past few years as well. I want to go back to your job title for a second. So you were saying that this is a pretty new position, commercial strategy, right? Did this position exist before you took it?
Jessica Joseph:
It did not.
Hunter Reis:
Nice. Something I brought up in my interview that I did on here back then for my handoff episode was that something that I learned from Emerson was that they always told me the job that you have five years from now does not exist yet. And I find that is so true in my life. And it seems like that's true with your life too. Have you experienced that in other ways?
Jessica Joseph:
Oh, absolutely. And this definitely isn't the first job that I've had that didn't exist. When I started working post graduating, it was a time when social media had been around. Instagram was probably three or four years into finally getting up and started. And so many brands though were kind of like, "What do we do on here? Everybody's on these platforms, how do we make it work?" And it seems like every other day there was a new platform and somebody's sunsetting, RIP Vine.
So the job of being a social media strategist wasn't a thing. A lot of companies were just kind of like "You, young person, you know this media stuff. Help us." So I will say with commercial strategy, the position or the title, I've seen it in certain contexts, but it's nothing related to what I do. And perhaps maybe the title might even change at some point. But the truth is that companies are looking for ways to innovate and needing more ways to take advantage of all of these new technologies, all these new consumer behaviors that are new way of life because we're learning a new way of life right now. And so companies are trying to make sure that they're adapting to that and staying afloat.
Hunter Reis:
I feel that, especially in the social media realm. I work in social myself, and since I had my interview on here, threads has come and pretty much died. So it's just that cultural landscape of things always changing. And if you're on social, you're one of the first people of that forefront who consumers are coming to figure out those changes. Is there a project that you've worked on in your current role or maybe your past role that would really impress your student age self?
Jessica Joseph:
I will actually talk about something that I launched with the team prior to me transitioning into this new role. So Wirecutter is a product reviews and recommendation site, part of the New York Times, and we're all about service journalism, ensuring that we help people figure out what to buy, but it's not just for the sake of buying. It's about helping people make better choices about what the things that they bring into their life and their home.
So part of that, we launched a whole new kind of program franchise that is dedicated to helping people figure out what to buy for the most important moments of their lives. And we started with moving. Moving is such a huge, huge, huge, huge transition. And people often don't even realize all the things that go into moving, even if you're just moving from one apartment to another, the things you have to consider, transferring over your bills and all the different names, making sure that you're aware of how your furniture is going to fit. If you're moving into a new home, which I did earlier this year, making sure that you measure your fridge so you can ensure that your fridge can actually fit in your kitchen because fridges come in different sizes. It's just so many different things on top of having to figure out what to actually buy. So we're really proud of that work because it was something that was really new. It was something that was also really helpful and readers really loved it. So that's something that I'm pretty proud of.
Hunter Reis:
That's incredible. And that's probably really fitting for students who are gearing up to graduate at the end of the year or who had just graduated.
Jessica Joseph:
Check out Wirecutter's Make A Plan Moving.
Hunter Reis:
Just a plug there. So I read that when you graduated from Emerson, you were a part-time teacher for a while, right?
Jessica Joseph:
Yes. So I taught at Miami Ad School, which is a adult education, continuing education to help people who want to break into the advertising field. And so I got the opportunity actually from a previous boss of mine at one of my other previous roles, and he taught there. And I was like five years into my career, didn't really think I had business teaching anybody anything about strategy or advertising, but he really believed in me. To this day, one of my favorite, favorite managers I've ever had, Eddie. And he said, "I think you'd be great for this," and just help me sign up. I started teaching and I have done that ever since. I've taken some time off, but I absolutely love teaching. I taught the art of strategy to budding creatives, so people who want to be creative directors and copywriters, and I've also taught their ad strategy bootcamp for people who want to be brand strategists or creative strategists. So really exciting stuff.
Hunter Reis:
Yeah, it seems like your hands are kind of all over the gambit of things. That's amazing.
Jessica Joseph:
Yeah.
Hunter Reis:
Is it difficult to balance maybe working a full-time job and doing this on the side?
Jessica Joseph:
The teaching gig, it wasn't. I will say at the time, especially when I was living in New York because I've since moved to South Florida, but when I was living in New York, it actually complimented so nicely because for the jobs that I had, I worked at advertising agencies, and so a lot of the students that would even join the school, they wanted to eventually get a job at an agency. And so I would just kind of have them come to my job and hold classes at work. And the students got the benefit of being in a real agency environment. And I got the benefit of not having to go to another building after work.
Hunter Reis:
Commute in New York, right.
Jessica Joseph:
The only hard part was that I could only accommodate the 7:00 to 10:00 PM time slot, and it was a three-hour class for 10 weeks. So that was the only thing, but it's so fulfilling. That three hours flies by when you're having so much fun with the students. It was a natural part of my life. Now things are a little different for me.
Hunter Reis:
Yeah, 10:00 PM in New York is dinnertime. Is there anything that you might have learned from your students that you then brought into your career?
Jessica Joseph:
Absolutely. I mean, one of the biggest things that was so fulfilling about teaching at Miami Ad School in particular is that I'm teaching my peers. I've had students that were older than me. I've had students that were just out of college, and I've also had students that were previously working in the medical field and making a switch. And what I learned from that is just the ability to make change in your life, the ability to be okay with making that change, to change your narrative and always continue to learn and expand and grow. So don't hold yourself back. If there's something you want to learn, go and do it.
Hunter Reis:
Nice. Yeah, that's incredible. Kind of going off of that, actually, is there one thing that you'd like to try next or learn, and why haven't you yet?
Jessica Joseph:
I really want to learn how to surf.
Hunter Reis:
Wow. I mean, you're in Florida, so no better place.
Jessica Joseph:
I really want to learn how to surf. I haven't tried yet because I'm a little scared and I haven't figured out how to weave that into my life.
Hunter Reis:
Fair enough.
Jessica Joseph:
That's something I want to do. But I am learning something right now. I've been doing a lot, a lot, a lot of just studying in my own time on gardening, particularly permaculture, because I've taken up an interest in gardening in the last year or two. So that's something that I'm most excited about.
Hunter Reis:
Wow. Yeah. Can you tell me about that? You described it as your home forest, right?
Jessica Joseph:
Yes, yes. So I am growing a food forest in my home. It's a whole concept though. It's part of permaculture. Permaculture is the whole concept of allowing nature to grow as it would in its natural habitat. So a lot of times when you see people's gardens or farms, everything's in neat rows. Everything has its place, or even the way we grow food in this country, everything's very much monocrop. You have one farm full of wheat, another farm full of corn, but that way of growing crops is not helpful for the environment, and it's also not how plants naturally want to grow. So permaculture is the idea of growing plants as they normally would in a natural environment. And most of them, when you put them all together in a bunched up forest, they help each other grow. The rainforest is a forest for a reason. So I'm kind of growing my own little rainforest over here.
Hunter Reis:
That is so, so cool. What kind of things are you growing?
Jessica Joseph:
Right now I'm looking outside my office window at my two papaya trees. So I'm growing papaya, I'm growing mangoes, I'm growing tangerines, I'm growing soursop, moringa. Oh my gosh, avocados, coconuts. I'm growing actually a lot of foods that I grew up eating and that my family grew up eating in the Caribbean. So it's also a way of me having a connection back to my heritage and culture.
Hunter Reis:
Wow. And all things that grow probably super well in south Florida too.
Jessica Joseph:
Oh my gosh, you can't even imagine. I have plants that when I moved here from New York that I brought them down here and the way that they were dying in my New York apartment, the way they've been flourishing down here, it's insane. So yeah, I love it.
Hunter Reis:
That's dedication, bringing your plants all the way down the East Coast.
Jessica Joseph:
I'm a dedicated plant mom for sure.
Hunter Reis:
So is gardening, would you say that's an outlet for you to relieve stress or maybe to keep yourself motivated?
Jessica Joseph:
Absolutely. It's definitely a way to relieve stress. I started doing it last year. I guess you can call me one of those, it was my pandemic hobby, even though I kind of started it late. The story behind how I actually got into it is very personal and heartwarming to me. But my grandmother passed away last year in April, and she was an avid gardener and just all around nature lover. And so my belief is really that when she passed on, she kind of passed on that love of gardening because I woke up one summer and I was like, "I can do this myself. Also, the groceries and the cost of lettuce are way too high. I can just do this myself." So it was something that I just started doing. And then over time, it's taught me patience. It's taught me just an effective way of meditation.
I also just love spending time, just like observing plants. I've learned so much. Just watching these plants grow from the way that they nurture leaves to come in. It's all so fascinating to me. So it has been a extremely fulfilling hobby and something that was also important for me in this journey that I've made with my career, because having something for yourself is so, so, so important, and it took me a while to learn that. And it takes most people a while, especially coming out of college, you're just about, like I said, survival, making it, achieving that goal, but make sure you always have something for yourself. So I'm so glad that I found gardening.
Hunter Reis:
Yeah, that's amazing, especially over the pandemic. And working in the journalism world. Things are going so fast and it's just one thing after another. So to be able to just come home and sit in your forest, it must be so relaxing.
Jessica Joseph:
Yes, it really is. I mean, I'm still starting and I'm nowhere close to having an actual forest, so there's a lot of work to do, and I probably have taken on a lot more than I intended to, but it's very peaceful, for sure.
Hunter Reis:
Going back a little bit, what's maybe one part of your life besides your forest that is even better than you could have ever imagined in college?
Jessica Joseph:
I will say my friendships. I am a very, very community oriented person. I grew up that way. And so when I went to Emerson, I went with the intention of making friends. Yeah, I went to go study, but I really was most excited about all the new people that I would meet. And I have made such amazing friends in my time at Emerson. Friends that to this day, we'll go on trips together, attending this one's wedding. There's so much, and my friendships have been such a fuel for me, especially the friends that I made at Emerson, because when I look back sometimes, like I have one friend, Muna, she will always like Muna's, like the record keeper of the friend group. And so Muna has all of the videos, the iPhoto photos that we took on the MacBook, and she'll just randomly send stuff to the group chat sometimes.
And it's just always fascinating to just see how far we've come, just what everybody's doing to look and remember at the time the drama that might've been happening, the background at that moment, and just even thinking about where my head was at that point, what I was thinking about, the things that felt important. And then to look now and it's like, "Girl, you're doing it." Apparently I've made it big. I'm a homeowner now. I got a car and a car note. And it puts things into perspective in that all of the worries that you have when you're in school, and then even when you graduate and how your life can be, it will be completely different in 3, 5, 10 years, even a year can change everything.
Hunter Reis:
Oh, yeah. And you must know some Emerson alum who you've worked with, especially working in the New York Times conglomerate, right?
Jessica Joseph:
Oh, I mean, even beyond New York Times, I have two friends from Emerson that we actually worked together at the same company.
Hunter Reis:
Wow.
Jessica Joseph:
I started there, and then I think Sherwin then came on, and then Lauren came on, and we all worked at Essence together. But especially being in the media industry in general, there's no shortage of me running into alumni from Emerson or people that I've even been friends with. And we all talk about the mafia. We all look out for each other. The Emerson Mafia is real, and it's not just a Facebook group. It's a whisper network of people that will just be there for you no matter what. And that is one thing that I'm extremely grateful for in my time there.
Hunter Reis:
That's so funny. I said something similar on my episode as well, that the Emerson Mafia is so real. Every job that I've been to, and I've hopped around quite a bit too, especially in my first five years, you mentioned when you first graduate, you're really just looking to make a buck to be able to afford wherever you're living. And that was kind of my journey as well. I hopped around quite a few times in the first few years, but everywhere that I went, there was at least one or two people from Emerson who had graduated from Emerson. Unfortunately, nobody that I knew personally in my year or in the time that I was there, but maybe one day, right?
Jessica Joseph:
Yeah, maybe. And even if you don't, it's just again, because of that Mafia, it's like if you're affiliated, we're going to look out for you. We're going to help you out. At least that's how I definitely try to pay it forward. You can't always, but especially if for people that make the effort to get to know you, that make the effort to reach out, and those are the types of people that it's really important to just stay connected to. You never know.
Hunter Reis:
Yeah, absolutely. I've done it when I was graduating, reached out to people. I know people have reached out to me, and it always feels nice to be able to give back like that. Besides your friends and the Emerson Mafia, is there a mark that Emerson left on you?
Jessica Joseph:
So while I was at Emerson, I was part of Ebony. I was vice president and president by the time I graduated. And Ebony was this, on top of the community that you already have at Emerson, it was just a strong community and safe space, honestly, during my time at Emerson. And so to this day, we're all really, really close. And a lot of my friends that I'm still friends with, that I was friends with outside of Ebony, we're all still really close. But the mark that my time being in leadership at Ebony, in particular, the mark that it left on me was particularly about the importance of standing up for what you believe in and how important it's to use your voice for raising those beliefs. During my time at Emerson, that's when Trayvon Martin, sadly when we lost him. And so that was really the first thing, the first mark that led towards now the bigger movement of Black Lives Matter and all of that.
But the way that we all came together to show support, the way that we made sure that we could help organize and help spread the word about the injustices of these things, and then also even pushing for more change at Emerson for the experience of black students there. That was just something that having that experience in college allowed me to even take that into my own life, and particularly the working world.
And I never stopped. I never stopped going forth with that charge of wanting to see change, wanting to make sure that diverse voices were put at the forefront. And I naturally kind of found myself in similar extracurricular positions, even at my jobs, like being involved in the black at whatever company groups that existed. So that was something that was a huge, huge mark that it left on me, particularly for a very difficult time. And at the time, we hoped that this was something that would never happen again when Trayvon Martin was killed. But it has, and it has continued to, so it shows even more so the importance of the work. And I'm also, just shout out to the current Ebony members and the previous ones, even after we left, the way that they have also organized and activated and showed their voices and not been afraid to challenge people. It's been so fulfilling to see that that spirit still exists. So that was-
Hunter Reis:
I agree.
Jessica Joseph:
... a mark moment for me.
Hunter Reis:
Yeah. I'm curious, and I'm sure others are as well, how since you graduated 10 years ago, how Ebony has changed and how it's stayed the same in those 10 years. Do you have any memories of special projects or special things in particular that you worked on in that group that you think would still be useful today?
Jessica Joseph:
Yeah. I mean, at that time, all of the diversity org, Ebony, Eagle, Amigos, Asia, they would all have the Legends Ball.
Hunter Reis:
Wow.
Jessica Joseph:
Legends Ball was a Halloween party, and you dressed up as a legend, and it was a ball, and it was amazing. And so that was always memorable. And again, just fostering that community because yes, especially when the work of the purpose... I shouldn't say the purpose, but in a time where the existence of these groups is often centered around the lack of something or centered around activism, there still needs to be joy. And we always found space for joy, space for creating community amongst one another, just getting to know others.
Also, again, being with other orgs and getting together with other orgs and getting to know people, just creating more environments for people to meet new people and make new friends. Because at the end of the day, yes, you're making an impact even in college, but I go back to the fact of that mafia and that network. You never know when you're going to run into those people again or when they'll help you get your next gig or any of that. So it's just important to foster relationships. It can be scary to get to know new people, but if you're not going to Emerson to network and make friends, what are you doing?
Hunter Reis:
Yeah, very much. So for the big question, what does it mean for you to make it, and how will you know when you get there?
Jessica Joseph:
What does it mean for me to make it? First of all, the fact that I even got asked to be on this podcast, I went through a whole moment of being like, "Oh my gosh, did I think I made it big? Did I make it? Did I... Oh my gosh. What?" But I think what making it means to me has changed so greatly. If you even asked me this question a year ago, two years ago, definitely before Covid, I was in a completely different headspace.
For me, making it is centered on being happy and fulfilled and fulfilled by knowing that I made an impact on the world and even just impact on the world or impact on my community, impact on my friends, my family. That's what's important to me. And you know you've made it when people can repeat to you that they are proud of you, that they admire what you've done, that watching you has given them inspiration or motivation to do something else. And sometimes that's not even coming from the accolades that you get at your job. Sometimes it's from the fact that people have seen you learn something new, get out of your comfort zone, move to a whole other state and completely change your life. Those are the things that let me know that I've made it and that I can continue to make it, because every day is a reality that I create for myself.
Hunter Reis:
It's beautiful. Have you had one of those moments recently where you've said, "Wow, I really made an impact on this?"
Jessica Joseph:
Yeah, I did. I was at an event for one of my really good friends from high school, and I was having a conversation with another one of the women there, and we were talking about starting your own business. This woman was an entrepreneur, and I was like, "Oh, I've really kind of been back and forth with my entrepreneur journey. I want to do something for myself. I want to, all these things." And so she was just kind of giving me advice. But then this was like a month ago, and then literally yesterday or the day before, I was on the phone with my friend and she said, "Oh, Jess, I've been meaning to tell you that I remember overhearing the conversation that you were having with that other woman while we were on our trip, and I can't remember what you guys were talking about, but I made a mental note to remind myself that I need to tell Jess that I'm so proud of her because she's accomplished what she's accomplished by herself, and you've done it on your own and you make it look so graceful. And I had to remember to tell you."
And I was like, low key brought to tears on FaceTime when she said that to me, because one, it was like this event happened weeks ago, and the fact that she made a point to remind me of that, but also it was at a time where sometimes I get into modes where you do kind of feel like, "Am I doing enough? Am I on the right path? Am I making a mistake or any of this stuff?" And so it was a really validating moment and also a nice little nudge to be like, "Keep going. People see the work that you're doing and it's not going in vain."
Hunter Reis:
And to come from a friend too, someone, a peer, someone who works not alongside you, but in the same industry, that always feels so good.
Jessica Joseph:
Absolutely. Absolutely. And so it's definitely, again, it goes back to the importance of friendship for me, community and why you just need to make sure that you're cultivating your relationships and the people that care for you. Because at the end of the day, sometimes that's all you have to keep you afloat. We all learned that from the pandemic. There's a lot that you can do on your own, but you can't get far alone. You don't.
Hunter Reis:
Yeah. Yeah. Well we're almost out of time, but you did mention just now mistakes, and I was wondering if there's a mistake that you made in your career that you're glad that you made?
Jessica Joseph:
A mistake that I made in my career. Going into a position for money. I won't say which one, not this one, but making a move for money. I had a move that I made that it was a very nice pay increase, but I was not fulfilled. I didn't like the culture. I didn't enjoy the work that I was doing, and I lacked fulfillment, but I had a good paycheck. And so after a while, it wasn't cutting it. So that would be a mistake. I do have a point that I do want to make about finances, because I think it is, especially for me, coming from a first generation household, my parents, nobody knew what we were doing with the FAFSA forms or any of that. And there's a lot of students that are coming from a space in which you don't have the same access that other students might have. You don't come from a family with money, or you don't have the same resources or connections that other people have, but don't let that stop you from making sure that you have the right information.
It took me a couple of years, thankfully not as many, but it took me about two years to really get a hold of my finances and money after graduating, especially when it came back to having to pay back my loans. I had private loans and I didn't really get the interest rates, the this, the that. Until you keep seeing that bill and you're like, "Why is this going up? I'm giving you money." So I would definitely say to students, get a hold of your money. I'm sure there are resources in the financial office that can help you with classes and such, but just get good with your money. It'll save you a lot of pain. It's difficult sometimes to confront, especially if there's habits that you have that aren't the best for your financial wellness, but get good with your money. It will pay dividends for you down the line. For sure.
Hunter Reis:
That's great advice to end on, for sure. Well, thank you so much, Jessica, for joining me today. I thought this was a wonderful conversation.
Jessica Joseph:
Thank you for having me, Hunter. I'm so excited and I'm honored to have been considered to have made it big.
Speaker 1:
Making It Big in 30 Minutes is brought to you by the Office of Alumni Engagement and was created in partnership with Alum Terri Trespicio. Our executive producer is Rebecca Glucklich. And Lilly Meehan-Egan from the class of 2023 is our producer and editor. Additional editing and mixing was done by current graduate student, Trinity Hodges. Stay connected with the alumni community by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and joining the Emerson Alumni Group on LinkedIn. You can also find upcoming events, benefits and more by visiting emerson.edu/alumni.