It is always a pleasure to have our UCCEO alumni visit class! Recently, Samantha Smith joined us to share her journey and how CEO has helped along the way.

Samantha was a member of the inaugural UCCEO class of 2016. After graduating Cobden High School, Samantha attended and graduated from Lindenwood University with a degree in Marketing, in December, 2019. Many of you will remember, this was right before the country shut down due to COVID so her job search was especially challenging! She submitted a LOT of resumes but received a lot of “nos” due to her lack of experience in the workplace. She ended up taking a nannying position in lieu of finding a job in marketing or a related field.

Samantha shared with us, that even though she went through a frustrating experience, she didn’t give up. She reached out to one of her “no” job prospects to see if they had any kind of intern or job shadowing positions and ended up making the right connection to start her own business. She kept reaching out, networking and making connections and within a year, had started her own business, @OnBrand Marketing with her college roommate, Traci Bushur. Together, they have built a successful online marketing company that is in its 4th year. Thank goodness they didn’t give up after those “Nos”!!!

Samantha shared some great life lessons and some takeaways from CEO. AJCHS student and UCCEO team member, Cash Hodges, had this to share about her presentation:

“On Monday we talked to Miss Samantha Smith, who is the founder and co-owner of On-Brand Marketing. Samantha is from Union County and went to school in Cobden, where she also was a part of the first official CEO class. While her entire story was very interesting, especially the part about nannying in Chicago, my biggest takeaway would be her focus on first impressions. Throughout her life she has maintained the belief that conducting yourself in a moral and professional way will benefit you immensely. I think this is great sand to put in my pocket as I want to be easy to talk to for everybody when it comes to my personal business as well as just day-to-day life.”

AJCHS student and UCCEO team member Lucas Salazar, had these takeaways:

“One thing Samantha values within her business is her clients. She explained to us that it is important to connect with clients on a deeper level to satisfy them and keep them coming back for more. She connected this not only to her business but to life, too. She asked us “How do you want to make others feel?”, and it’s an interesting question to think about. I would like to leave a good impression on people and my clients but clearly, that comes through action. Another piece of advice Samantha gave us, was to always “surround yourself with people that choose you”. I thought this was amazing advice, especially for college because it’s very easy to fall into the wrong group of people.

Samantha has in fact, come full circle within the UCCEO program as a student, an alumni and now, she and Traci made the decision to become investors with OnBrand. She has also been a mentor and participated in several other events and activities.

Thank you to Samantha, for sharing your morning with us and to her, Traci and OnBrand Marketing for investing not only in the Union County CEO program, but also the future of these young team members.