ADERA DOUGLAS-FREEMAN
Marketing

Adera Douglas-Freeman is a sophomore majoring in Marketing. She is a member of the Hofstra American Marketing Association and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society. A native of Queens, she now lives in Albrightsville, PA.

What brought you to Hofstra?

I wanted to come back to New York. I wanted that university feel, that campus feel. My cousin attended Hofstra and she liked it. When I visited the campus I said "This is where I want to go. This is my school." It was instant.

What do you like best about Hofstra?

The teachers. My perception of professors was that they just do research and they don't care about their students. Here at Hofstra the professors are teachers. To me the difference between a professor and a teacher is that with a teacher, this is what they were born to do, what they love to do. They're willing to work with you outside of the classroom. I like when a teacher puts their foot down on the first day of class and says 'This is what I expect of you.' I like a teacher who sets the tone for what the semester will be like, and so far at Hofstra that's what I've gotten from a lot of my professors. That's what has kept me here; the teachers.

They always say, "Come to me during office hours if you need help." One of my teachers, Professor [Joel] Evans said to come see him not only if you have questions about class but if you have any questions about Hofstra or about life. It's always great when you have a teacher who loves what they do.

What are your career goals?

I've always wanted to work in the music industry. Eventually I want to become a music executive, but in the industry you have to start out as an assistant to someone before you can do what you want to do. So now I'm looking to work for the artist and repertoire department. Those are the people who find the artists. They're at shows all the time looking for new acts. They're basically the backbone of the label because they're the ones who find the talent. Eventually I want to run my own label.

How has Hofstra helped you along that career path?

I have an internship with Interscope Records in Manhattan in the publicity department. I help the publicity assistant with the database, check newspapers for clips on our artists, research venues in case they want to host an album release party or in case a publicist is going somewhere with one of the artists. I also help with press clippings.

I had the opportunity to attend Keri Hilson's album release party at Pink Elephant in the city.  It was a nice experience. I didn't get to go inside the party because I'm under 21, but I got to help out her publicist on the red carpet, making sure the photographers were allowed on the carpet.

I got to go to the David Letterman Show. That was so crazy! It was wonderful. There's this group called White Lies. They're really big in Great Britain. They wanted a whole bunch of roses on their set, and that was the same day as the album release party. I had to go downtown and get a vinyl of the record they released and then I had to get 12 dozen roses for their set. We went on the set while the band was doing sound check. I got to meet their manager, tour manager, the producer and I met the band.

What other experiences have you enjoyed at Hofstra?

For the presidential debate, I was a media bus volunteer. We went around to the various hotels to pick up reporters, writers and other people coming to the debate.

It was definitely a great experience; just being able help out with it is more than I could ask for. Just the idea that a presidential debate was going on during the time I was at Hofstra was more than enough for me. Plus this being the first election I was able to vote in. It was more than I could have imagined.

Where did you watch the debate?

In Hofstra U.S.A. It was one of those experiences - I'm at a loss for words. It was surreal. I was sitting here and President Obama and John McCain were not that far from me on my campus.