At 37, Sarah Miller has enjoyed a stellar career in the competitive world of advertising working in various leadership positions related to account, group and experience planning. She’s worked on accounts for big-name clients like Coca-Cola, Dell, Reebok, American Express and Johnson & Johnson at some of the country’s most prominent agencies including DDB, Deutsch, BBDO in New York and McClain Finlon. Last month, she landed a high-profile position with BBDO in Los Angeles as the vice president of planning. Throughout her many roles in the advertising industry, she’s kept her focus on strategy and works closely with the creative teams to bring ideas to life.

A 1993 graduate with degrees in philosophy and applied research psychology, Miller has put to work the knowledge she’s gained from her Alverno education – paired with a sincere passion for her craft and many long hours – to propel her to success.

“I would be nothing without Donna (Engelmann), Tim (Riordan) and Amy (Shapiro)!” she said. “They pushed me and now, every day, I look at things from different perspectives. They taught me to question convention.” Miller has keen awareness of popular culture and technology – something that goes hand in hand with advertising. And that awareness has been critical when tapping into the needs and wants of consumers.

“It has everything to do with my career. I have to know what’s going on with people, what influences them. My entire job is being a sponge,” Miller said. “You have to know how to find people and speak their language. Don’t just think of it as youth pop culture, think of it as global pop culture,” she said. For college students today, pop culture and technology play a much bigger role in their education and in their lives in general. When Miller was a college student in the late 1980s and early 1990s, technology was much different than it is now. Computer access wasn’t nearly as widespread, the Internet was a relative newcomer, and many of the technologies we use on a daily basis weren’t in existence.

“Now, the difference is there’s no separation; it’s a part of their fabric,” she said. As new college graduates join the work force armed with their 21st century toolkit, Miller said it’s important for them to utilize the benefits of technology, but also listen to themselves. “As they enter the work world, they are going to be challenged,” she said, noting they should welcome and learn from those experiences. “And listen to your own intuition. You’re going to go farther on that than anything else.” — Shelly Nelson