UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — During her time in the Penn State Smeal College of Business, fall 2023 student marshal Sophia Darkes said she gained the most experience from Smeal case competition opportunities.
“Class content is important, but based on my internship experience, the case competitions were the closest thing to actual real-world experiences,” Darkes said. “And you get to win some pretty good prizes sometimes.”
From Fremont, California, Darkes will graduate on Saturday with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, minor in information sciences and technology and a 4.0 GPA.
“I grew up in California my whole life, so I really wanted to make a change for myself,” Darkes said. “Specifically, with Smeal, it’s ranked highly, and I think the alumni network is what really sealed the deal for me.”
Outside of classes, Darkes was the video content manager for TEDxPSU, in addition to being involved in Days for Girls at Penn State and the Penn State American Marketing Association. She held internship positions at Byler Holdings LLC, Hakuhodo Consulting Asia Pacific and J.P. Morgan Chase, and was a Niche College Ambassador.
A Penn State Harrisburg 2+2 student graduating early in two and a half years, Darkes said her favorite memory from Smeal was winning the Kohl’s Business with Integrity Case Competition, the first case competition she entered at University Park.
“It was just really surprising,” Darkes said. “I feel like it put more confidence in myself, but I also got to connect with a lot of cool people during it.”
In addition to case competitions, Darkes said she valued the Smeal Alumni Mentorship Program that connected her to alumni in the industry she was interested in. Darkes was paired with Brian Seewald, senior vice president of omni-channel experience and operations at Express.
“Smeal always says there’s alumni [working in your field], but they actually make an effort to connect you with them,” Darkes said.
Darkes’ success at Smeal is shown through the many awards she has received:
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Provost Award
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President Walker Award
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President Sparks Award
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First place in the Kohl’s Business with Integrity Case Competition (Fall 2022)
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Second place in the KPMG Ideation Challenge Local Case Competition (Fall 2022)
Darkes said her favorite professor was Jennifer Chang Coupland, clinical professor of marketing, as Darkes was able to collaborate with her for the PSAMA Regional Conference and overall found her engaging in class.
While adjusting to campus and working with her peers at Penn State, Darkes said she appreciated the “work hard, play hard” culture.
“It not only makes everyone seem less intimidating, but I can also count on them to do good work,” Darkes said. “We can hang out together and I like that — it’s human.”
After graduation, Darkes will work at J.P. Morgan Chase within its Career Leadership Development Program.