Sasha Cohen ’06 and Christine Sasaki ’13 spoke to upper school students about their careers in marketing at an event sponsored by HW Works and the Harvard-Westlake Student Alumni Association on Dec. 4.
Cohen and Sasaki described their experiences working in marketing and gave advice to students who are interested in the field.

Cohen, who works for the anonymous social media app Whisper, discussed how her school experience shaped her career and how students should take advantage of their current resources.

“If I could go back in time, I would utilize the deans more in college and at Harvard-Westlake,” Cohen said. “I would find someone who had gone through the job process out of college and see how it worked for them.”
Sasaki, who is a junior strategist for independent creative company Omelet, discussed her job in the market industry and how to find enjoyment in working.

“I think with any job you’ll have moments where you absolutely love the work you’re doing but there are also going to be times when you just want to go home and sleep,” Sasaki said. “The greatest things about where I work are that I really enjoy the people I work with, and [I have] a team that I can really rely on.”

Both speakers discussed building a large professional network. Cohen particularly stressed that students should attempt to keep in touch with as many former classmates as possible.

“Always keep in touch with people [and] keep your social media up-to-date because you never know who’s searching in whatever field you work in,” Cohen said.

Sasaki also shared her experience working in the tech industry as a woman.
“If you walk into a room and it’s all guys, don’t feel intimidated,” Sasaki said. “You have the same right to be there as everyone else.”
Student-Alumni Association member Carli Cooperstein ’20 said that the roundtable was a valuable experience for her.

“It was really great to have alumni come in and talk about their experience in the workplace,” Cooperstein said. “It was really very helpful to get an insider’s perspective and figure out how one day we might tackle these hurdles.”