Renee Rock – Master of Arts Management ’15 – Business & Entrepreneurship Department – Columbia College Chicago

Meet Renee Rock, a second year candidate of our Master of Arts Management program here at Columbia College Chicago. She is currently curating TEDxColumbiaCollegeChicago. In this student spotlight, Renee talks about how Columbia has helped shape her goals for the future.

What is your Major?

Renee: Master of Arts Management, Second year Candidate.

What are your goals for being in this program?

Renee: My ‘goals’ have definitely shifted since I began the MAM program.  After spending two years here, my interest and experience has expanded and broadened so much that what I walked in wanting to accomplish is very different from where I am now.  I would say that I want to be a strong business leader in the arts. So many art organizations struggle with managing their businesses and administration, and I would love to be able to provide a sigh of relief for them in that struggle and frustration.

What classes have helped (or are helping) you to achieve that?

Renee: Working independently with the faculty has been the place where I have definitely learned the most. Each of the faculty has such unique experience and insight to offer and are totally rooting for you to succeed.  Those personal meetings and experiences have been the most blossoming for me.

Why did you choose Columbia’s Business & Entrepreneurship program, and how do you think this program will create personal growth within your future career?

Renee: I chose the program because I definitely learn best in a hands-on type of environment, which is how the MAM program is structured.  It has certainly opened doors for opportunities like curating TEDxColumbiaCollegeChicago, which I would never have had otherwise.

Are there any particular professors who have made a significant impact on you? How?

Renee: Kathy Butera taught Fundraising my first semester and it completely blew my mind. She took a completely daunting topic and made it exciting and inspirational.

Mary Filice was an amazing mentor through a complicated and difficult project. She led with gentle grace and turned a potential ‘failure’ into a ‘teaching moment’ that I was enormously grateful for and her guidance significantly transformed my approach to communication and project management.

Monique Maye was my advisor for an independent project and really helped me to persevere and push through the complications and unexpected challenges of event planning.  She has also become an amazing mentor and awesome role model.

What other career related interests do you have? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Renee: Since my background and first love is in theatre, I would be thrilled to work with one of the predominant theatre companies in Chicago.  But my interests have certainly broadened, and I am most interested in working with organizations that utilize their artistic platforms to share new ideas, give voice to people’s stories, and challenge thought and convention—across a variety of artistic genres and mediums. Ultimately, I want to use my right/left fusion brain to help build momentum for projects that are bigger than me—that say something bigger, reach a wider audience, and create waves of inspiration and change.