Graduate Spotlight - Baylie May Disher
Baylie May Disher
Marketing, May 2019
“Now that I have my degree, I have so many options. I know I can really excel with my new skills, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Baylie Disher wasn’t looking for a new direction in life. From the age of 10, her Christian faith has been front and center, and when she started college, she confidently embarked on her chosen path to becoming a physician’s assistant. But some of the classes she encountered at her university weren’t going well, or in her words, “I could not do chemistry or biology to save my life.”
It was time to shift gears. In addition to looking for her new career path, Baylie also decided she wanted smaller classes and hands-on experience from instructors who were professionals in their field. But which program? “I wanted to do something else, something more versatile, so I switched to marketing,” she says.
What first drew Baylie to Mid-State Technical College’s two-year Marketing program was how quickly she would be done and able to dive into the workforce. Coming from a small town with a graduating class of just 40 students, she was ready for instructors she felt she could approach. “It’s so, so crazy critical to education,” she says, “just feeling like you can go up to the teachers and they know your name, they know who you are, and they know what you need help with.”
For Baylie, Mid-State also had a few pleasant surprises in store. “I love that Mid-State is for working students,” says Baylie, “I work a lot, and having classes that work around my schedule is amazing.” She also didn’t expect the full college experience she found, including intramurals, events and activities, clubs, free parking, and even dorm living if she wanted it.
It was the Marketing Management class in her final semester that made Baylie realize her second-choice career in marketing was meant to be all along. A simulation class, where students "become" business owners, it gave her the opportunity to choose products and price, staff the office, and market the business. Now she says, “I love marketing, and I love putting the brand out there and showing people what your business is.” A self-described extrovert, that one class was a “turning point” to seeing her future in sales and marketing.
What’s next for Baylie? Well, for starters she is honored to be delivering the student address at Mid-State’s upcoming graduation ceremony. Then, she’ll move into her full-time role with Skyward as a customer consulting and support training specialist. But she’s not limiting herself. With her entrepreneurial spirit now awakened, she is also looking to one day open her own business. “Now that I have my degree, I have so many options. I know I can really excel with my new skills, and I can’t wait to get started.”
