Cara Friedman is a driven student, professional, and social entrepreneur. Friedman is the former Senior Director of Marketing at Likeable Media and is now studying full-time toward earning a Juris Doctorate.
Friedman graduated from the University at Albany in upstate New York with a BA in Communications and an MA in Organizational Communication. She soon joined the team at a then-young company called Likeable Media in New York City. There, she oversaw the managers of the company’s “buzz builder” program, a network of more than 100 interns that operate out of the company’s New York City and Boston offices, and experienced Likeable Media’s tremendous growth over the four years she spent with it.
Friedman’s passion and high level of skill for writing is clear through the posts on her 25 Hours Blog that she shares with fellow University at Albany alumna Shari Donk and featured posts on the ultra-popular website Mashable. She aims to incorporate her communication and management skills with a refined legal perspective in order to reciprocate the opportunity of quality education.
Hipster Baby Names and Trendy Names for Boys and Girls http://t.co/721rksXK86
— Cara Friedman (@Caraizzle) February 17, 2014
1. Why did you choose to attend the University at Albany?
I was always planning on going to a SUNY school — the education for the price just made sense. I ended up choosing Albany for their Communications department. I was planning to major in Communications and Albany had an excellent program with the option to do your BA and MA simultaneously.
2. What did you study at UAlbany? Any extracurricular activities?
Like I said, I was a Communications major. I focused primarily on organizational communications and ended up getting my Masters in that. I really fell in love with the department and was lucky enough to get to know my professors. I was a teaching assistant for Introduction to Communication Theory and was the president of Lambda Pi Eta, the communication honor’s society.
3. After you completed your Master’s at Albany, you began to work for Likeable Media. What was your role?
I had interned at Likeable Media the summer before and was offered a job upon graduation. My first role at Likeable was Director of the Buzz Builder Network (which was our internship program). Although the role was more HR than communication-based, I was able to use a lot of what I learned from Organizational Communication on a day-to-day basis. From there I grew in my role to General Manager and eventually became the Senior Director of Marketing.
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4. You’re now studying for the BAR (good luck!)—where do you see yourself in five and ten years?
THANKS! With my background in social media marketing and a law degree now under my belt, I would love to be able to combine the two. One of the best things I did at UAlbany was work as a teaching assistant. I can absolutely see myself in five to ten years teaching social media and law classes at universities.
5. Overall, how did your education at the University at Albany help prepare you for life and your career?
The University at Albany offered a variety of classes that have helped me in jobs since. Not only that, but the ability to do internships for course credit really allowed me to build up my resume while I was still in school.
6. What advice do you have to share with SUNY students?
I think it is really important to utilize the resources SUNY makes available to you. Attend a job fair to get experience talking to employers and networking. Participate in extracurriculars to build your resume. Get to know your professors because they will be extremely valuable assets to you when you are looking for a job. Know what your major has to offer whether it is teaching assistant opportunities, mentor programs, BA/MA programs, etc. Overall, just make the most of your time because it goes fast!
