– Story by Ellis Ulery, a graduate assistant at the College of Business and Economics
Ally Orr never expected her senior year to be as busy as it is now. On top of her final semester as a marketing student, she also is changing the perception of women in STEM, medicine and law workplaces, and created a scholarship that has drawn more than $140,000 in donor support for women entering these fields.
We got to sit down with Orr and talk to her about her motivation for this project and how her background at Boise State prepared her for success.
“I want this scholarship to convey that women can do more than what they think they can do. This scholarship was made in contradiction of statements made by one professor, but at the end of the day, it is way bigger than that,” Orr said. “We will fund women and won’t listen to this kind of rhetoric.”
Orr is originally from Vancouver, Washington. She came to Boise State on a scholarship and began studying marketing after taking a class and “realizing how fun, creative, specific and complex the field is,” she said. “The professors at the College of Business and Economics have been amazing and I feel the program has prepared me to go out in the world to work.”
One of the most helpful classes she has taken, she said, is Business Communication 201. “I learned how to handle different crises and to be able to correctly state and convey my messages.”
We asked Orr about some of the most important lessons she has learned and used from the marketing program: “Marketing is learning how to make your own brand and capitalizing off that idea. My time here has provided me with transferable skills with my work, such as being able to lead my project proficiently since people are trusting me with decisions,” she said.
Orr is currently interning at Applied Materials, an engineering company, in the sales operation and enablement department. Her duties include data management and customer relations. She plans to continue her work with the company after she graduates and is thinking about starting her own nonprofit organization in the future.
Learn more about or give to Orr’s scholarship.