Tanveer, Hebah

06 March 2019

Independent Study and Mentorship

Assessment #20: Primary Learning Assessment

Mentor Visit 4

In my fourth mentor visit with Dr. Auciello, I went into a research lab where UTD

graduate students typically perform their research and experiments. This is where Dr. Auciello

has been monitoring his progress with coating a heart stent in UNCD; I had never gone into this

lab before because students were always busy with their work. Since this mentor visit was on a

weekend, I didn’t have to worry about students, and could talk to Dr. Auciello in his natural

habitat as opposed to the typical rented conference room. We discussed the heart stent and then

went into detail about my ISM Final Product. I showed Dr. Auciello my presentation progress so

far and he definitely had some feedback about its aesthetics and content.

This meeting is relevant to my ISM topic of Bioproduct Marketing, as it has given me

insight on exactly what to look out for in the future of my career. One thing that I did not initially

take into account was the fact that certain companies prefer certain auras around their message.

For instance, Dr. Auciello prefers his company, OBI, to have a light aura around its message.

This is conflicting with my traditional views of creating dark themed presentations; I prefer dark

themed presentations because they are unique and easier on the eyes of the audience.

Unfortunately, the Final Product is a slideshow that he will be using, so I have to create the
slideshow to his likings and not mine. This was an important learning experience for me, as I

discovered a new key piece of information to include in my marketing initiatives.

Personally, I found this mentor visit to be a little frustrating, as I had worked hard to

create a template for my ISM Final Product. Initially, my frustration was translated into anger.

But on the car ride back to my house, I took some time to cool down and reevaluate Dr.

Auciello’s comments. All of his comments were very valid and held some weight in light of my

presentation. I accepted this criticism with little hesitation, and even came to like a few of the

criticisms. From my fourth mentor visit with Dr. Auciello, I have formulated 2 key questions I

hope to answer over the course of my remaining ISM journey:

1. How will these products be sold in the United States, if they ever do end up finding

market here?

2. How can this presentation stand out and be unique in the eyes of investors?