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, ’17, marketing intelligence M.S.
Tell me about where you’re from.
I’m from Spain, in the north part in a city called Bilbao. I’m from Basque Country. Bilbao is a city that has mountains and coasts, and I loved having both there. You can walk everywhere. That’s 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’m 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 “I really need to apply here.”
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’t 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 “Big Data.” I would love to work in a job like that because I’m really passionate about it.