Name: Kledia Spiro
Class Year: 2010
Title: Marketing Consultant
Organization Name: Independent
1. In one sentence, what does your job entail?
I design and implement comprehensive and strategic marketing plans for start ups and organizations
2. What planned and unplanned events connected you to your industry and your first employer after Holy Cross? How did you learn/decide it was a good fit for you?
I was a research assistant and supervisor for Dr. Amy Wolfson, the Chair of the Psychology Department. She was my advisor and my mentor after Holy Cross. My first employer was Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. I was the Clinical Research Coordinator for the Neuro-Oncology Department. After having to redo the department’s severe adverse events forms for an audit and meeting with the pharmaceutical companies every other day, I decided it was not the right fit for me. I realized marketing was the perfect combination of my passion for art and story telling while using data analytics, which I so enjoyed in research and medicine.
3. What were you involved in when you were on campus?
I was a “Hate: Not Here!” committee member, Student Program for Urban Development, Volunteer for Apostolic Church, Office of Multicultural Education, Social Justice coordinator, NEED (Nutrition, Exercise, and Eating Disorders) Peer Educator, Secretary, Nativity School Teacher, Social Justice 101 Curriculum Coordinator
4. What was your major and how did it affect your career decisions?
I was a Psychology and Visual Arts Major with an Asian Studies Concentration. I could not be more grateful to have had a Holy Cross education and to have picked these two majors and the concentration. They have affected my career decisions in countless ways. They gave me the incredible strong foundation on how to be team player, empathic leader, and thrive in fast paced environments. It is these very qualities that opened many opportunities for me when I was a graduate student at Tufts University and when I worked at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and beyond.
5. What are one or two skills that you developed at Holy Cross that you use in your work?
At Holy Cross I learned how to be very detail oriented, accurate and a team player. Being detail oriented and a strategic thinker were really developed in my studio classes as I had to constantly step back from the canvas or whatever work I was creating so I had a wide view of what was happening in my work and weren’t getting lost in the details. I also honed in my accuracy and team player skills in many of my psychology and Asian studies classes.
6. What advice do you have for students on campus today?
Take time to take care of yourself. Go to the Hart center and use the sauna or the pool and just take a break. The stress of a strenuous Holy Cross education can take a toll on your health if you don’t take the appropriate amount of breaks. There are so many opportunities waiting for you as a Holy Cross graduate, don’t over-stress yourself with getting a job before you graduate only to miss the opportunity to enjoy your last semester on the hill.
