Sydney Hoffman, a marketing major at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, is set to graduate this fall after building a strong academic and professional profile. Her interest in marketing began in high school during an entrepreneurship challenge with local business leaders. “That experience sparked my interest in marketing,” Hoffman said. “As I continued through school, each class deepened my interest and confirmed that marketing was the right path for me.”
Hoffman was influenced by a speech from a General Mills brand manager and by her mother’s career as a marketing specialist. She will graduate with a degree in marketing and a digital analytics certificate.
Through the Mark Stephen Cosby Honors College, Hoffman participated in courses such as “Cultivating Creativity” and “The Use and Abuse of Big Data.” The honors program provided her with diverse experiences that strengthened her problem-solving skills. “The honors college has opened doors that I didn’t expect and given me the chance to connect with people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives,” she said.
For her honors thesis, Hoffman is researching how consumers perceive human-generated versus artificial intelligence-generated marketing content. She sees AI as an important factor in the future of marketing: “With all the talk about AI replacing jobs, I wanted to get ahead of the curve and explore how it can be leveraged to enhance, rather than replace, human creativity in marketing.” Hoffman added, “Doing an honors thesis this semester has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done. It’s kind of a culmination of everything I’ve learned and new things I am learning. It’s challenged me to think critically and given me insights that I will carry into my future career in marketing.”
Hoffman has also worked for three years as a writing assistant intern at UW-Eau Claire’s Center for Writing Excellence (CWE), helping students and faculty improve their writing through individual sessions and group workshops. She values her role as both mentor and leader: “I love leading workshops and collaborating with students of all writing abilities,” she said. “It’s rewarding to see their confidence grow.” She described working at CWE as probably her biggest accomplishment: “This experience has allowed me to make a positive impact on the campus community while refining my communication and mentorship skills.”
Beyond academics, Hoffman participated in several student organizations including the Financial Management Association, Oaks International, Cru, American Marketing Association, and Pickleball Club. Professionally, she served as a public relations intern for Blugold Athletics where she managed newsletters, social media coverage, press relations, and interviews. “It was really interesting to work in the fast-paced environments of athletics and even more meaningful to do that locally for my own school,” she said.
Last summer, Hoffman interned at Lockton through its Founder Series program focusing on insurance, risk management, and employee benefits. During her 10-week internship she worked on industry case studies culminating in research on catastrophic risk mitigation strategies for clients. “The goal was to help executives understand the environment around [catastrophic risk] and what risk mitigation techniques could reduce risks for clients and lower their coverage options,” she explained.
She presented findings from interviews with Lockton employees along with team research to company executives in Kansas City: “This not only gave me the opportunity to gain interesting insights into the complex insurance environment but also gave me valuable skills in presenting to an important audience of industry experts.”
As graduation approaches, Hoffman credits her wide-ranging experiences at UW-Eau Claire for preparing her for future roles in business.
