South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Lindbergh High School senior eyes a career in marketing

Lindbergh High senior Brian Maloy, center, wants to major in marketing when he attends college this fall in Bolivar. He credits his teachers Michelle Totchka, left, and Colby Schmid for his career path.
Bill Milligan photo
Lindbergh High senior Brian Maloy, center, wants to major in marketing when he attends college this fall in Bolivar. He credits his teachers Michelle Totchka, left, and Colby Schmid for his career path. Bill Milligan photo

Lindbergh High School senior Brian Maloy jokes that his parents bought an expanded cell-phone plan just to hear from him once in a while.

But there may be some truth behind the smile.

He’s editor of the yearbook, president of the Distributive Education Club of America, a member of the high school band and a senior member of the Student Council at Lindbergh High School.

He also is busy working part time 20 hours a week in an electronics store and actively is pursuing a career in marketing.

“It’s nice to see a student who is that self-motivated,” said Colby Schmid, his instructor. “He’s set goals for himself and he’s working to achieve them. He’s an exceptional student.”

When he finished his sophomore year at Lindbergh, Maloy, the son of Connie and Jeff Maloy of Concord, had an open period in his schedule. He could choose between a marketing class and a food preparation elective. He selected marketing and that decision changed his mind about becoming a doctor.

“My grandfather always encouraged me to take business and economics classes,” Maloy said. “He thinks it can’t hurt to understand business, no matter what career field you choose to go into. So, I decided to take the marketing class and things just took off from there.”

Maloy plans to attend Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar next fall to study international business and advertising. He hopes to attend St. Louis University after college to obtain an advanced degree in marketing.

“I don’t know if education helps all that much in the business world, but it gives you background, teaches you to think on your toes and adapt,” the Lindbergh senior said. “After that, I hope to work for a decent-sized firm in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago.”

The marketing program is in its fifth year at Lindbergh. Begun by teacher Michelle Totchka, the school added Schmid three years ago to help with the 130 students who enrolled in six class offerings.

The highlight of Maloy’s experience was a leadership conference in Chicago last December.

“I learned a lot of things that I could apply in my life, right now — leadership and communication skills, how to deal with situations and stress,” Maloy said.

Lindbergh students put the skills to use that same night when the hotel they were staying at attempted to move a pair of students to a different wing because they had two customers booked for the same room.

“It was funny,” Maloy said. “The desk called the room and told two of the girls that were with our group they had to move to another tower. The girls thought it was a prank call and the drama just built from there.

“Everything worked out,” he said. “One of the girls got a refund from the hotel.”

Maloy said he likes outdoor sports like mountain biking and works summers as a Boy Scout counselor in Farmington. If he doesn’t get a job with a large marketing firm, he might try an entrepreneurial venture that keeps in touch with the outdoors.

“I think it will be cool to see where the jobs take me,” Maloy said. “I think I can be happy anywhere. As long as I have enough money to live on, I can be happy anywhere.”

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