Clare Kimmel finds meaning in hard work

ed accepting Kimmel, and they formed a team.

“He kept me humble by throwing me off [his back] a lot. It hurt, but always made me laugh,” Kimmel said.

This humbleness followed Kimmel, as she had to say goodbye to Starbucks when she was fourteen, when Starbucks ended up being adopted by an older woman who could spend more time with him.

After saying goodbye to Starbucks, Kimmel didn’t stay out of athletic pastimes for very long. In her freshman Spanish class, she was convinced by a classmate (who turned into her later teammate) to join the Minneapolis Rowing Club.

After joining the club, she adjusted from being with her middle-aged riding instructor and Starbucks all day at the stables to being in a boat surrounded by people in the middle of the Mississippi River.

“It’s much better [being with a team], having to rely on someone and really trust them,” Kimmel said.

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Clare Kimmel

She was now involved in working with multiple people with their own personalities, opinions, and judgments when it came to race day and practice. She quickly had to adjust to not just being a partner, but being part of a larger community of trust.

“We’re all like parts in a machine, and everyone needs to be super strong and work well together so it works,” she said.

But that didn’t mean Kimmel was done with duos: Kimmel’s trust in her teammates was especially tested during a race over the summer in Canada where she and a teammate rowed in a pair, which they had only practiced twice beforehand.

“Each kid has one oar, but there are only two people, and it’s a really hard boat to row… because you need to be exactly the same strength and exactly in sync,” she said.

Kimmel and her teammate trusted each other and ended up doing well in the race. Despite fears of flipping the boat, they stayed mostly dry.

Kimmel demonstrated a growth as an athlete since she stepped into her first stable at eight years old, or her first boat at 14. Because of her relationships in the water and on the back of a horse, she became a better, more trusting, and hardworking person.

Kaylee Jackley talks marketing for Twin Cities Performance Ferrari

HAZEL WALTENBAUGH

THE RUBICON

Kaylee Jackley is the Marketing and Digital Manager for Twin Cities Performance Ferrari. She works under the Carousel Motor Group, a partnership of dealerships that allows her to oversee Ferrari, Audi, and Porsche dealerships.

Jackley’s role is in charge of managing the marketing for each store, which means coming up with marketing strategies, managing websites and social media pages, as well as planning various promotional events for the dealerships.

“All three of our brands are very different. Audi is more of a very traditional car dealership, with mass marketing and a strategic plan, whereas my Ferrari dealership is really curated on specialized high-end events for our clients. It’s always something new and different. So it doesn’t feel like I’m working on the same thing all the time, which is exciting for me.” Jackley said.

In “Esperienza,” one of her most recent projects for Ferrari, Jackley and her team worked with a real estate brand to rent a house on Lake Minnetonka in order to showcase cars to potential buyers.

“We flew in a Michelin star chef from New York to make food samples for people, we brought in an artist and a personalized leather goods tailor to create leather goods, and so we had this true experience for guests to come in and have these experiences all while test driving the cars,” Jackley said.

These events focus heavily on the Ferrari brand by not only showcasing the cars, but by showcasing the lifestyle that comes with owning such a high-end vehicle.

Another project Jackley worked on was creating a cohesive digital footprint for all of their social media platforms.

“I talked to the IT people, and with all of our reps with Facebook and Instagram and Google, and I synchronized everything so everything all across the board was mainstream and all under one umbrella,” she said.

This project required a lot of planning, as well as collaboration as she contacted and worked with photographers, videographers, information technology, and the rest of her team to make sure the brand had accurate representation.

Jackley’s career today, however, got its beginnings when she was still a student. In college, Jack- ley majored in communications and journalism, minoring in business management.

“I always knew I was creative. I like to see my ideas come to life, so that is why I was drawn to advertising. I have an idea of how something should look and what it should feel like … I have this vision, and when that vision comes to life, I get so happy,” Jackley said.

After college, she went to work for a marketing agency, but it wasn’t what she had pictured. At the agency, she often felt boxed in and couldn’t always be as creative as she wanted to be, so she decided to make a switch.

Her desires for more creativity and flexibility as well as her interest in being involved in the planning and execution processes lead her to find the position at Ferrari.

“I have a lot of creative freedom, and my VPs completely trust me and respect me to do what I need to do. I get to do process planning, [create] budgets, [and] strategy. But then I also get to do creative work, photo shoots, [and] social media campaigns.”

From high school, Jackley had a general idea of what she wanted to study in college but learned more specifically what she enjoyed and what she excelled at along the way.

“It just all fell into place,” she said.

One of the most important things in her career path was being able to talk to her teachers and those around her about what she was passionate about. By utilizing the resources around her, she was able to create connections and opportunities for herself.

“If there is a company you think is really interesting, [message] people on LinkedIn, [get] coffee, and just [talk] about their careers. I would never be where I am without the mentors that I had,” Jackley said.

Work Life is a monthly feature that spotlights careers students might be interested in after high school. Read archives at RubicOnline.