Asian Studies Alumni Spotlight with Lea Chambers

Interested in what you can do with a degree in Asian Studies? In our Alumni Spotlight Interview Series, we ask our alumni about their career paths, how they became interested in Asian Studies and for any advice they would give to current students. This Interview features Lea Chambers (BA’ 97). Lea is currently the Global Marketing Leader for Golder Associates, an international environmental and engineering company.

Could you go into some detail about your career path until now?

I have had an extremely interesting career and have been very blessed in the organizations I’ve worked for and where my path has carried me until today.

I started my career, while I was studying in Japan and subsequently while I was a student at UBC, as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher. It was a great way to earn money while I was going to school in my early twenties, and taught me the importance of clear communication and an engaging and entertaining presentation style.

I worked part-time while I was at UBC for a Vancouver based ESL school, where after a year of teaching I was invited to become the Marketing Director for the school. My job was to promote the school to potential students, travel overseas to attend language school trade shows, and manage the school’s marketing strategy and budget. I loved it!

When I graduated from UBC I moved to Toronto, and while I did get a job initially as an ESL teacher, I ended up working in marketing for a large Canadian mutual fund company, which propelled my career forward immensely. I did another (executive) degree at York University in Marketing and still work as a professional services marketing professional today.

Fifteen years after graduating from UBC, I am the Global Marketing Leader for an international environmental and engineering company called Golder Associates (www.golder.com) and love my job and where it has led me in my life thus far. I’m also on the Board of Directors for our corporate charity, the Golder Trust for Orphans (www.goldertrust.org) and feel very privileged to spend time at work contributing to African development.

How did you get your first job after graduating?

I interviewed for a job as an ESL teacher at a school in downtown Vancouver before I graduated from UBC – the owner was Japanese and since I spoke Japanese we hit it off really well. I started the day after my interview!

How has an Asian Studies degree helped you in your endeavors?

Studying and living in Asia at a young age (well, 20) really opened my eyes and mind to the diversity in our world. Having lived in Africa during high school, I had an already very broad perspective on life and what was going on in the world before I started my degree.

Completing an Asian studies degree taught me discipline, how to learn, how to finish what I started, and also how to connect easily with people from all sorts of cultures and backgrounds.

Are there any opportunities in your field?

Marketing is a fascinating field to work in, because it cuts across many different industries and skill sets. I work as a “professional services” marketer, which is entirely different than somebody who might work for a consumer goods company, for example.

Marketing as a professional also involves many skills from writing, graphic design, analysis, presentation, web design, etc.

There are opportunities wherever you look in marketing, but you need to be very clear about what kind of marketing you want to do and what kind of work you want to do. Do you want to write? Would you rather get involved in web marketing? Is analysis your thing, or do you like graphic design?

Getting a foot in the door is the hardest part as far as I have observed.

What can students/recent graduates do to get a foot in your industry?

Network, network, network. Do informational interviews with anybody you can who works in the marketing profession. Ask for leads, be willing to do some internships, get involved in marketing professional associations like the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), or the American Marketing Association (AMA).

In your field what does a typical entry level position entail?

Entry level marketing jobs are usually “coordinator / admin” types of roles, helping more senior people execute marketing campaigns or strategies.

Do you have any other advice that you would like to impart to students/recent graduates?

Do what you are passionate about and do what makes you happy. That will change throughout your life so be willing to accept that your career is a journey that you can’t entirely predict. That’s what makes it such a fun part of life.

I’m passionate these days about international development so I’m networking in that field and using my current position to create opportunities to transfer my skills into that type of work. And networking like crazy, speaking at conferences, writing a blog, reading way more books than I can handle, and loving the unknown aspect of what might come.

Can you recommend your favourite location in your region?

If you mean “Japan”, where I went to study Japanese, I’d have to say that Nagasaki, where I lived for 2 ½ years, is the most beautiful part of Japan. But that entire country is fascinating. I miss it still and it’s been 20 years since I lived there!

What is one of your funniest or memorable moments abroad?

I was very lucky to live with a Japanese family when I went to school there. They were wonderful people – I’m still in touch with them – and we had a lot of fun together just going about everyday life in our small rural community. They really treated me like one of the family, even though I was a tall blond “gaigin”.

When I was living with them we had a really bad typhoon in Nagasaki one June, and our entire rural community was without power or running water for 3 full days. Luckily we had prepared, having done shopping beforehand for candles, water, foodstuffs, etc. But we sat inside the house for three days  with no electricity – so no TV, light, etc. – me and this little Japanese family, and all we did was talk and play board games and stuff. One night we were so bored we used blankets to dress up as bats and shone flashlights on our faces and ran around scaring the heck out of each other. I just remember laughing and laughing with them that night. It was such a precious moment in my life that I still remind them of when I see them.