Nicholas Panarin C’23 spoke to the 300-level classes about his career
April 2025 – Drew University alum Nicholas Panarin C’23 returned to his alma mater to speak with students in two upper-level classes, the business course The Work of Innovation: Creating Organizations That Solve Problems and marketing course AI Marketing.
Panarin, now a digital and performance marketing coordinator for menswear clothing brand Flag & Anthem, majored in marketing and minored in Russian at Drew. He also managed multiple sports internships, including ones with the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals Gaming Teams during his time at Drew.
Nick Panarin C’23
Despite his experience working with major organizations like the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Premier League, and PGA Tour, he started both presentations by explaining his decision to pivot from sports marketing entirely and move into e-commerce apparel retail.
“Being able to break down real-world strategies and walk through the day-to-day of a marketer is exactly the kind of perspective today’s students need,” said Panarin. “As someone who graduated from Drew in 2023, I believe it’s incredibly valuable for students to hear from someone close to their age—someone who has recently navigated the same challenges they’re about to face and help them as much as possible so that they’re ready for life after college. Whether it’s building experience, securing internships, or simply staying ahead of the game in a competitive job market, I hope my story helps inspire them to take charge of their journeys.”
In the Work of Innovation class, Drew entrepreneurship students are tasked with developing a credible business idea that solves a real-world problem, and as part of that process, tackle startup marketing.
Panarin discussed his digital marketing role in the context of a rapidly growing company and explained how working in e-commerce taught him strategies for affiliate marketing, prospecting and retention campaigns, and search engine optimization (SEO). He also explained the multifaceted nature of his job and the challenge of wearing so many hats as a marketer, from managing different marketing channels to paid ads expert to graphic designer.
“What stood out most was how he connected real-world marketing strategies to what we are learning in class, making the concepts feel more tangible and applicable,” said Alpha Sesay C’26, a business and public health double major. “It was inspiring to see someone who once sat where we are now, leading a growing brand and giving back to current students.”
In AI Marketing, the class uses various Large Language Models (LLMs) to explore real digital marketing tasks across different companies, channels, customers, and competitors. Students use AI for simple content creation and more challenging tasks such as text-to-image and text-to-video projects, vibe coding dashboards, and AI automations that accelerate workflows.
Panarin showed the class how he utilizes AI daily in his current role. He outlined AI-driven smart bidding on Google Ads, AI-optimized campaigns on Meta, and content creation prompts. He also demonstrated how to generate simple code snippets with LLMs and leverage their reasoning models to do company research and enhance website capabilities.
“I thought about his comment that marketing is one of the few jobs AI cannot fully replace,” said business major Brian Malave Prieto C’26. “Also, the number of applications he needs to work on is astounding.”
Another business major, Max Renieris C’25, was struck by Panarin’s comment, “AI has turned 12 hours of work into four.”
Finally, Panarin shared a little about his journey after graduation and gave the students his advice on traversing the job market successfully. He emphasized the importance of staying ahead of the process and the significant role internships can play in finding a job.
“Nick helped me visualize what someone who was once in my shoes could achieve within a relatively short time span and inspired me to take a more intentional role in my future and career path,” said business major Kiara Torres C’25. “I am grateful for this experience and am confident that it will greatly benefit me in my career plans and aspirations.”
Sarah Abramowitz, John H. Evans Professor and Chair of the Business Department, added, “We are lucky to have such accomplished and generous alumni who are willing to mentor our current students.”
