Melissa Maldonado is a week away from obtaining a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing and a minor in Spanish. This will be her third and final year at the University of New Mexico as a transfer student from CNM.
Maldonado was initially drawn to criminology because of an interest in crime documentaries. Through this degree she was exposed to sociology, which allowed her to study how society was organized and what pushes people to make certain choices. This drew her to social work. However, as she got further into her degree, something didn’t quite click. She began to feel concerned about the possibility of social work taking a heavy emotional toll. It was when she took a marketing class at the beckoning of a friend that everything clicked.
“I remember telling my mom, ‘I don’t know what it is about the class, but I kind of like it,’” Maldonado said.
Maldonado now has a clearer idea about the aspects of marketing that drew her in; however, things are not set in stone, as she is also drawn to public relations and open to other possibilities, Maldonado said.
“I like the idea of building a brand and pushing that out to people.” Maldonado said.
She began working for the Daily Lobo shortly before the midterms of the Spring 2026 semester.
“I wanted to get some experience before I graduate so that I can have something to offer to future employers,” Maldonado said.
Maldonado enjoys creating plans for displaying advertisements, known as “campaigns,” and communicating with clients.
“Applying the graphics and the due dates feels like a puzzle to me, which I enjoy,” Maldonado said.
She enjoys the process of understanding a client’s goals, building mutual trust with the client and executing shared plans, Madonaldo said.
“It’s a really cool thing to see when a client gets excited at the start of a campaign or when they are starting to work with us,” Maldonado said.
In addition to working for the Daily Lobo, Maldonado also worked for UNM Athletics as a marketing intern.
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“I want to go further into doing marketing for sports. I’ve already been applying to internships that are similar to my position with UNM Athletics,” Maldonado said.
A challenging aspect of being an advertising intern is trying to balance the time commitment with other responsibilities in mind.
“As a student I can get pretty busy, between my other internship with athletics, going to school, doing group projects and working a job. But my co-workers and Daven (Quelle), our business manager at Student Publications, have been very good at helping me,” Maldonado said.
Working in advertising has helped her break the ice with new people, Maldonado said. It pushed her to reach out to people when she might not have otherwise. The job taught her valuable networking skills, she said.
“People aren’t scary. People want to talk. People love to talk,” Maldonado said.
Shin Thant Hlaing is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
