Samantha Hartsfield: a superb saleswoman with a big heart.
As a participant in the College of Business’s Advanced Sales Program, Samantha has been learning techniques that she then applies to local businesses. One of only six students to be selected for the Advanced Sales Techniques class, she was required to research a product, then act as that company’s representative in sales meetings. This real-life experience afforded her “the best training for a career in marketing or sales.”
For her Honors in the Major Thesis, Samantha is researching the new phenomena of born global corporations—companies that receive more than 25% of their revenue from international sales within the first three years of their founding. Due to technological advances in communication and transportation, such companies are “popping up left and right,” says Samantha.
To lay the foundation for her research, Samantha spent the past summer in Australia participating in the International Scholar Laureate Program. As a business delegate, she traveled throughout the country visiting several corporations where she learned the specifics of Australian businesses.
Good salespeople are not uncommon, but rarely do they also possess a generous spirit. Samantha’s comes from her ability to empathize with others. When she isn’t focusing on her schoolwork, she “stays involved in community service”—as community service chair for Omicron Delta Kappa, participating in the Big Bend Heart Walk, and volunteering at the local Humane Society. Samantha explains, “It breaks my heart to see people having a hard time, so I do what I can to brighten their lives, if only for one day. I may need help some day, and I hope someone will lend me a hand.”
How did she acquire such maturity? Samantha attributes it to serving as a Pre-Business instructor for the Freshman Interest Groups. “I will never forget my excitement and nervousness on the first day. The night before I had nightmares! I was on a rollercoaster, looking into all of those faces, remembering I was only a freshman a few years ago. I took the challenge, didn’t let my nervousness show, and succeeded. When I walked out of that classroom, I was a different person, a grown up, and I knew I was ready for the real world.”