It’s been said that dreams do not work unless you do. Working hard helps people accomplish their dreams, and ISU alumna Gina Ambrose proves just that.

Ambrose graduated from Iowa State with degrees in marketing, international business and French in fall 2008. She started out with an internship with Kum & Go, working on what was called “Go Crew.” Following that internship, Ambrose then had two more internships with John Deere and Caterpillar.

Ambrose explained those internships as a time that helped make her well-rounded and helped her realize what career she really wanted.

“I knew that I wanted to work for a big name company and I knew that I wanted to help people,” said Ambrose, digital marketing manager for Nike digital commerce marketing.

Ambrose was a Nike digital commerce intern during the summer of 2008. Nike seemed like the perfect melting pot of everything that she wanted in a company. She called Nike “a magical place” and loved seeing how focused it was on health and wellness.

“Nike was the dream of the dream of the dream,” Ambrose said.

Unfortunately, when Ambrose was graduating and looking for a job in 2008, Nike was not hiring.

Ambrose devoted her senior year to looking for jobs, and went about once a week to the office of Tammy Stegman, assistant director of Business Career Services, where they searched for jobs together. Ambrose said that it was a full-time job just to look for a full-time job.

“She knew what she wanted and did not give up,” Stegman said. “Her mentality was trying something different to stand out among her competitors.”

Ambrose knew that she wanted to live on the East Coast, so she honed in her job search.

Her first job after graduation was working for Gap, and she was part of its retail management program. While she was there, Ambrose admitted that she never lost the dream of working for Nike.

“Gina wasn’t afraid to contact someone and ask if they might know of somebody in a hiring role,” Stegman said.

Finding the dream job was not an easy feat. Ambrose had three internships and one full-time job before landing her position at Nike.

“The most important thing I learned is to have an open mind and be willing to try anything,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose said people should never turn down an opportunity to interview with other companies. Interviews can give a glimpse of something that could be completely different than what it seems on paper. By setting realistic expectations, employees can realize it takes some time working for different places before landing that dream position.

Three years ago, Ambrose was offered a position at Nike in Beaverton, Ore. She has been the digital marketing manager of digital commerce marketing ever since.

“It feels really great to go to a company and feel like you’ve found your calling,” she said.

Ambrose’s job description includes working to drive the sales on Nike.com, as well as working on and budgeting search engine ads and display media.

Although Ambrose has a position in her dream company, she is not settling there. She has a career map for the upcoming years, and plans to keep diversifying herself within the company to keep climbing up the ladder. In just a few weeks, she will be a buyer for Nike men’s training products.

“I do best when I have a personal connection to what I’m marketing or selling,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose loves to run and is training for the Chicago Marathon scheduled in October.

“Realize your career is a journey; it might take you awhile to get where you want to be.”