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Kevin Renton:
Hi there, my name is Kevin and welcome to QuickFire from Volt. This is where we put higher ed marketers on the hot seat and ask them 20 questions about what makes them tick, what makes them successful and what their goals are for the future. In the crossfire today, we have Kin Sejpal, vice president of marketing and communications for the University of Redlands. Welcome, Kin.
Kin Sejpal:
Thank you so much, Kevin, for having me.
Kevin Renton:
Not at all. Give us your elevator pitch. What do you do at the University of Redlands?
Kin Sejpal:
Sure, I am the Vice President of Marketing Communications, as you said, and the Chief Marketing Officer at the University of Redlands. And I started here about a year and a half ago, new to Redlands, new to California, which is where Redlands is located in Southern California. And I have been in higher education marketing pretty much my entire adult life.
Kevin Renton:
Fantastic. Leads on to the first question. I wanted to work in higher education because…
Kin Sejpal:
…because it changed my life and I wanted to help change others.
Kevin Renton:
The marketing tool I can’t live without is…
Kin Sejpal:
These days I have to say ChatGPT.
Kevin Renton:
Very good. Do you have it constantly open or specific tasks?
Kin Sejpal:
It’s open so I don’t have to log in, but I do tend to use it for productivity and some administrative tasks and some quick language help.
Kevin Renton:
Awesome. In the next five years, I’d like to…
Kin Sejpal:
…continue to do what I’m doing and make a difference.
Kevin Renton:
My biggest professional mistake was…
Kin Sejpal:
Letting jobs pick me versus me picking jobs.
Kevin Renton:
When I’m not working, I’m…
Kin Sejpal:
I am hanging with my dog and my husband or volunteering for higher education marketing like CASE, AMA, PRSA, CIC, all the acronyms.
Kevin Renton:
Good times. I start my day at…
Kin Sejpal:
Well, 7 a.m. in bed, 9 a.m. at work.
Kevin Renton:
What happens in between?
Kin Sejpal:
A lot of social media surfing, news, and all the things that I missed overnight. And of course, getting ready.
Kevin Renton:
The secret test students succeeding at my school is…
Kin Sejpal:
…is if you pursue a community service internship and if you take advantage of the resources available here.
Kevin Renton:
I admire the marketing at…
Kin Sejpal:
I will say at my two former institutions, and I’m not saying because I was there, but they have done a fantastic job and continue to do so even after I’ve left. So those would be RIT, Rochester Institute of Technology and Purdue University, assuming you’re looking for higher ed examples.
Kevin Renton:
Yeah. Any non-high rate?
Kin Sejpal:
Oh, Nike all the way, Patagonia has been more recent.
Kevin Renton:
It’s funny, Purdue has been a call out by other people on QuickFire, so kudos to Purdue. The biggest challenges facing higher education marketers are…
Kin Sejpal:
The agility to keep up with how information is disseminated and consumed because that seems to be changing daily.
Kevin Renton:
My favorite social media channel is and why.
Kin Sejpal:
No judgment here, but I am on Facebook and I enjoy it for the sole purpose of helping dogs. So I use Facebook to connect dogs that are needing adoption with rescues and fosters.
Kevin Renton:
My biggest professional achievement is…
Kin Sejpal:
…making it this far, being an international student and finding my home in the US.
Kevin Renton:
What’s working in higher ed education right now is…
Kin Sejpal:
Reimagining product, price, place and promotion and having higher education marketers play a significant role in areas outside of promotion.
Kevin Renton:
What’s not working in higher ed right now is…
Kin Sejpal:
Resistance to change, change of any magnitude, but particularly change of large magnitudes that require revamping how things are done.
Kevin Renton:
Future of higher education will be…
Kin Sejpal:
Global.
Kevin Renton:
A key to my success has been…
Kin Sejpal:
Being strategic, hiring or surrounding myself with good people and learning from others.
Kevin Renton:
One thing I’ve learned about managing a team is…
Kin Sejpal:
That people are people first, treat them as human beings and team members second.
Kevin Renton:
Hardest part of my job is…
Kin Sejpal:
Balancing multiple priorities.
Kevin Renton:
I love my job because…
Kin Sejpal:
Because it gives me a sense of purpose and I get to hang out with a mascot, which is a bulldog almost weekly.
Kevin Renton:
Love mascots. I want to go to the convention where the mascot convention. That would be the best. Well, Kin, thank you very much for QuickFire. You have been the fastest and the quickest and that deserves a call out.
Kin Sejpal:
Oh yes. I appreciate that I can be succinct when I’m told to be succinct. Otherwise, you don’t want me on any long-form podcast.
Kevin Renton:
Fantastic. We’re done. Great job. Way to go.
Kin Sejpal:
Thank you.
