Noel Shiu

Dean's Scholar

Advertising
College of Applied Scienes and Arts

Why did you choose your major?

My major is Advertising Management. I chose this major because I want to work with various companies and use logical and creative ways to help grow their business or to sustain their success. Finding the best strategy to send a message to an audience and to promote growth is what I have passion for. I want to be able to say "I helped shaped that company to what they are today" because that proves to me that I have the capability to help businesses grow and that my work is greatly valued.

What does receiving this particular award mean to you?

Receiving this award and having the opportunity to share my story really means a lot to me. Not only does it show that I've worked hard, it also shows that what I've done during my SJSU career is acknowledged and appreciated. I've been on the honors in high school but none of my teachers spoke so highly of me so taking this opportunity to share my experience with everyone is something that I will appreciate forever.

Who has had the greatest influence or impact on your life? In addition, tell us about a SJSU faculty member who contributed to your academic success.

My family had the greatest influence because without their support, I would have never felt so motivated and committed to achieving my goals. A SJSU faculty member who contributed to my academic success is John Delacruz. John Delacruz is an advertising professor who teaches students how to produce creative advertising work. Although my major is on the management track, I thought taking a creative class would be fun. At first, it was really tough for me because I just didn't have that natural flow of creativity that people with creative track majors have. Delacruz was the professor who constantly gave me feedback and I took every single one of them seriously because I wanted to better my creativity. It wasn't until the second class I took with him where he saw my work shine. All the feedback and suggestions that Delacruz gave me pushed me to really think outside of the box and he made me realized that I can produce great work outside an area that I thought I could not do great in.

Describe an experience that has shaped who you are today.

An experience that shaped me to who I am today was transferring from a community college into SJSU. At the start of my SJSU career, I told myself that this is just going be a place where I simply go to class, go home, and do it over and over again until I get my degree. However, after I got more comfortable with my department, which is Journalism and Mass Communications, I met peers and professors that inspired me to get more involved. Just by attending SJSU and being in the JMC department, I met many talented individuals, improved on my creative skills, won two awards for a creative brief project that I worked on with my partner, joined the Spartan Ad Club to better prep myself for the future and took the opportunity to travel to New York to visit some top Ad agencies, and travelled to another country for the first time in my life. Everything that I've done and what caused me to do certain things at SJSU has shaped me into a more open-minded and creative person. I also believe that not only did I gain more knowledge, I definitely gained more self-confidence in everything I do.

What would you say to other students to encourage or inspire them to attain academic excellence?

Get involved no matter how small or big it seems. Trust in yourself and believe that you can produce great work. Don't be afraid to take chances and try new things because that is where you will grow and learn the most.

What makes you a Spartan?

When I took my first steps onto the SJSU campus, one of the first things that stuck out to me was the pole banners that read "My Story Is Here." At that moment, I was wondering what that really means and if I would ever find out. Well, it's pretty clear that it means SJSU students are able to tell a story of their experiences at the school but I didn't fully understand it until towards the end of my SJSU career. What makes me a Spartan is that by attending this school, I developed the capabilities to go above and beyond my own expectations and created a whole new side of me that I never that I could see and what that journey felt and looks like is my story that I wrote and lived in at SJSU.

Nominated by John Delacruz

Professor, Journalism and Mass Communications

"Noel is one of those students who simply gets on with the task in hand and arrives at clever and innovative solutions. She has been an active member of DBH agency, contributing to a number of accounts and is able to think creatively and strategically. Together with her creative partner, Noel was the recipient of an American Advertising Award and were also this year’s Judges Pick, an achievement indeed. Congenial and hard working, Noel is poised for a promising career in the advertising industry."