Marketing major finds his balance

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of profiles of notable fall 2022 graduates.

Tyler Burnside is a native of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, and after visiting the ASU Tempe campus during his senior year of high school, he knew where his academic path would begin.

Burnside will graduate this fall from the  W. P. Carey School of Business with a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing. He was also a recipient of a New American University Scholar – Dean's Award.

Burnside began as a first-year entrepreneurship student with the dream of starting a business.

“It took me a while to decide on marketing,” he said. “I think one thing that was always in the back of my mind was how am I going to start a business. It seemed very daunting as I was just starting out in college and was maybe needing a bit more structure.”

But after briefly transferring to construction management, he knew that business was where he was meant to be.

Burnside knew he was on the right path when he discovered the potential routes, creative outlets and experiences his major offered, including outreach projects for Psyche, a NASA space mission to visit an asteroid of the same name led by ASU. He joined the Psyche Student Collaborations team in spring 2021 to manage the MissionToPsyche social media account.

“Tyler has been incredibly creative, enthusiastic and trustworthy — crafting and posting content, engaging with followers, brainstorming new campaigns and generating analytics,” said Cassie Bowman, associate research professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and co-investigator on the Psyche Asteroid Mission.

Burnside quickly became an integral member of the team as deputy student manager of the Psyche Inspired arts program, running meetings and supporting the participants. He leaves behind many creative campaigns that the program will be able to implement in the months and years to come.

Burnside’s advice to others in school is to find balance between getting work done and making time for meeting friends, going out, and exploring new things.

“It goes by super quick and there's time for seriousness and time for fun, just try to figure out what balance looks like for you,” he said.

After graduation, Burnside will return to his hometown for a change of pace and see family and friends. He has an open mind regarding his future and welcomes new opportunities for his path in life. Here, he shares a few thoughts about his time at ASU.  

Question: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise —that surprised you or changed your perspective?

Answer: College has taught me how to take a loss and carry on throughout my day. In all truthfulness, some tests did not go the way that I wanted them to, but failing a test also puts things into perspective and what I thought may have been the “end of the world” has allowed me to work hard and figure out how to move on and not to sweat the small stuff.

Q: Which professor taught you the most important lesson while at ASU?

Answer: I think all my professors have in some way gotten me to the finish line of graduating, so it’s hard to pick. But my upper division professors have really made my last year-and-a-half fun and challenging in the classroom. Kate Eaton, assistant dean and clinical associate professor in the W. P. Carey School of Business, has pushed my group in many ways that no other class has and made me think and question business which has been super insightful. Jim Palmer, faculty associate in W. P. Carey marketing, always kept the classroom positive and without his class I would not have been able to meet a group of friends that have become so tight. And lastly, Kim Hill, professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, taught two of my favorite classes that I have taken, and for sharing some truly crazy life experience stories.

Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life?

A: The W. P. Carey Starbucks was the go-to place between classes, study sessions and even the coffee that I needed to get me through class. During these times I was also with friends, and we had our traditions of getting coffee and then hanging out. So as much as it was a place on campus it was also in part because of the people I was with.

Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?

A: Research for an Alzheimer's disease cure. Some members of my family have suffered from it and I would love to help contribute to fighting this disease.