Emma Kukelhan was more than impressed by the opportunities available to her in college. While she could have graduated early, she instead decided to become a double major.
After four years at Northern Kentucky University (NKU), Kukelhan graduated in May 2020 from the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program with concentrations in Marketing and Sports Business & Event Management while she bowled on the NKU team. Graduation was a virtual ceremony.
“I really loved going to NKU. I came from a pretty small high school, so I wasn’t interested in going to some 50,000-person school,” she said. “NKU was that really nice in-between for me.”
Kukelhan was particularly impressed by NKU’s business college and its accreditations. She started working at Dick’s Sporting Goods part time during her junior year and went full time as their price and signage coordinator in her senior year.
Joining the Norse Nation
Being part of the NKU Bowling Club and then working to start a business fraternity at the university significantly enriched Kukelhan’s four years.
While there were many classes she enjoyed, Kukelhan said the capstone class was her favorite. She liked that she was judged on follow-through, keeping her word and meeting standards.
“Dr. David Raska made it clear from the get-go that this wasn’t a class; it was a workspace. We did projects for actual companies throughout the whole semester,” she said. “It helped me see what would be expected in an actual business. For me that was so cool ending my college career like that, because it wasn’t structured like any other class.”
Even though Kukelhan was already working, the course prepared her for growth and higher expectations within the workforce.
“I saw how I would be able to apply all that I learned in a real-world setting,” she said. “The capstone made it all click for me, and any fear or anxiety that I felt before was gone.”
Her class was scheduled to show business plans to Procter & Gamble in downtown Cincinnati, but the pandemic called for switching to a video presentation instead.
Chasing the Corporate Dream
Kukelhan’s biggest lesson from NKU was to believe in herself.
“I really didn’t have great confidence before,” she said. “I feel like you need to be confident enough to put yourself out there, try new things, ask questions and pursue what you know in your head and your heart you want to do. Before this program, I probably wouldn’t have.”
Classes at NKU taught her how to better connect — both through attending meet-and-greets with business professionals and by creating a LinkedIn account, which even allowed her to connect with the president of Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Kukelhan has had an interest in marketing since high school, and her NKU experience has helped her develop her passion. She dreams of growing her role at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
“I loved the idea of designing something that someone in a store would see and that would drive them to want to actually purchase something,” she said.
“It’s a really well-rounded company. I would love to have a corporate job or even be an in-store visual merchandiser or marketer. There’s a bunch of roads I could go, and again, it’s about me telling people what I want and going after it.”
After being promoted to price and signage lead in her store, Kukelhan started a management training program which she is hopeful will help her gain a path to corporate.
As the first in her family to earn a college degree, Kukelhan has much to be proud of. Her dad went to trade school and her mom attended college briefly before shifting paths.
“Obviously, they’re really proud because you always want better for your kids. That’s a nice little feather in my cap to say I was the first one.
“I am so grateful for what NKU gave to me and happy for any opportunity to talk about it.”
Learn more about NKU’s Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Marketing online program.
