A Q&A with Patricia Garay
This article is part of an occasional series introducing you to our Tigers.
By Megan Bradshaw on March 21, 2017
Patricia Garay, 鈥�17, marketing intelligence M.S.
Tell me about where you鈥檙e from.
I鈥檓 from Spain, in the north part in a city called Bilbao. I鈥檓 from Basque Country. Bilbao is a city that has mountains and coasts, and I loved having both there. You can walk everywhere. That鈥檚 more difficult here. I kind of depend on a car. There you can go one day to the mountains and the next day to the beach. I love that.
Tell me about your family.
I鈥檓 an only child. Both of my parents live in Bilbao. I grew up with a lot of cousins. My family is still living there but they come to visit me often. My dad is a doctor and my mom is a nurse.
What made you choose Towson University?
When I was an undergrad in Spain [at the University of the Basque Country], I studied abroad in North Carolina [at Lenoir-Rhyne]. I always wanted to study here, and in fact I came as an undergrad for six months. I fell in love with the experience and the way the professors were teaching and the classes were smaller. I love that feeling. I went back [to Spain] and finished my degree [in business administration] and did my thesis. I started looking for grad schools and I wanted to do something with marketing. There was this new marketing program in marketing intelligence, which was something I was super-interested in. I found that and I was like 鈥淚 really need to apply here.鈥�
What do you do in your free time?
Mostly I love hiking, going outside or traveling as much as I can. I also like to go out with friends and go to Annapolis or to Patapsco for example. I just love to be outdoors. Last year in winter I went to Disney World and then went to Utah in May. I went to Arizona and all the national parks there. It was great! I can鈥檛 wait to go back.
What is your favorite class or professor?
That is difficult to answer because I like all the professors. Last year in the spring semester we had a class related to social media. The professor Gema Vinuales is also from Spain. We really connected. I loved that class because I really love social media. We had to make our own blog and advertising. I really loved that class.
What is your favorite thing about TU?
I feel like Towson University is a really big university, but you also feel it is a small university in terms of professors and classmates. Everybody where I work as a graduate assistant [in the Graduate Studies Office and English Language Center] is a really good group. We work together and help [each other] and I like that feeling.
What made you want to be a board member of the Graduate Student Association (GSA)?
Just being able to advocate for graduate students, especially international students, because we are a small group but a strong group. I really enjoy having that position to help international grad students.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to work in a job related to social media analytics or 鈥淏ig Data.鈥� I would love to work in a job like that because I鈥檓 really passionate about it.