Final Project

Marketing 1960

Mary Gillis
12/1/2015

Mary Gillis
#3 Final Project

#3 Random Acts of Kindness

Here is what I did:

1. Offered and watched my sister-in-laws children so they could have a much needed date
night
2. Took cookies to a couple of neighbors, doorbell ditch style
3. Taped Quarters to the candy dispensers at Walmart with like fun notes attached to it.
4. Donated food to the food bank
5. Got up early and made breakfast in bed for my spouse
6. Complimented someone at the store about their smile, they were not the cashier.
7. Bought dessert for the table across the way from us at dinner. We did not know them.
8. Went and got the door for someone bringing in a package at the FedEx store.
9. Brought in flowers for a lady at my work
10. Picked up other dog poop at the park that was not my dogs.
Coming up with these ideas was really hard for me. I started to brainstorm with my spouse
about what I could do that would be random. A lot of the ideas he said, holding the door open
for people, smiling at someone who looks unhappy, talking to the cashier at the store about
their day, didnt seem like random acts of kindness. To me they seemed like normal things that
everyone should already be doing. My husband just laughed at me and said, you do them
because you are nice. Most people dont do them. As I thought about it more I realized that
we both are right, people arent doing these things but they should be. I am now going to try to
do at least one nice thing daily for someone else.
A lot of these I didnt really get to see a huge response from people. All of the people that I
saw or gave things to them were really grateful and said thank you but there was not tears or
anything like that. What made the most impact on me is how I felt. It made me really excited
and happy to do something for someone else.
One of my favorite ones was when we bought a family dessert. They were a cute little
family, a mom and dad with a two kids who were cracking us up. There youngest son seemed
to be about 3 maybe 4? As we were leaving we told the waiter that we wanted to pay for
dessert for them but not give it to them until after we had left, I never got to see their reaction
because I wanted it to be anonymous and I didnt want them to feel obligated to thank us.
Another favorite was watching my nieces and nephew so that my sister-in-law could have date
night. We took them to discovery gateway, they had a blast and me and my husband did too.
It was so fun to spend time with them and play with them. My least favorite was the picking up
poop, but that one is something that needs to happen in order for us dog owners to be able to
have a place to take out dogs.

#8 Transactional Analysis

Mary Gillis
#8 Final Project

My husband and I have been married just over 2 years now. They have been
a huge learning experience. Before you get married everyone tells you, marriage is
hard, living with someone new is hard, and the first year is the hardest. But
honestly when people told me that I usually just said I know, but I really dont think
I did. Growing up you see married people and they there lives seem so much easier
from that point of view. They found their life partner, what I thought was going to
be the hardest part of my life, and now they just get to sit back and be married and
have a family. In a way I thought life would get easier but the opposite really
happened. Instead of worrying about yourself you now have someone elses crap
plus your own to worry about. It is a lot to learn and to become a custom too. But
lets not stop there, lets throw in that both your families have completely different
ways of arguing and communicating so you practically learning a new language. I
would say it was a lot harder than I expected.
Let me first say that I absolutely love being married. I love who I choose and
the person he is and I love being able to work as a team and having that support
system there for you. You just have to really work at it, but not just the relationship
with you partner or spouse but your relationship with your self. This is what
Transactional analysis has really taught me. It has taught me to really look at myself
and why I am reacting the way I am. Am I being overly sensitive? Am I really mad at
Taylor or am I just really stressed out? Am I just hungry? You laugh but the last one
is probably true more times than I would like to admit.
Before my breakthrough, when my husband and I would get into fights they
would not be like 10 minute disagreements they would be like all night full blown
arguments. At the end of the fight I couldnt even remember how it all started. I just
knew that some how my feelings were hurt and I felt stupid. But after my
breakthrough I realized that half of these fights started because Taylor said
something or laughed at something I did which made me feel self-conscious and
would trigger me to in a way shutdown. I bottled everything up and kept it inside
without talking to him about it. I was so self-conscious about how I looked, if I was
being a good enough wife and about everything else you could think of that I would
freak out every time I fell short of my ideal. This made me harder on myself and just
feel miserable. I started to focus on my self-esteem and confidence by telling my self
I am good enough and that am doing a great job. I started to open up to Taylor
about it and that communication helped him to know when I was having a bad day
so he could be more sensitive and really think about what he says.
One example of a time I used this skill is when we were going on a camping
trip. We were getting ready to leave and everything that could have gone wrong
that day did. We didnt leave on time, I forgot a million things at the store, we forgot
the cabin key etc. I was so frustrated and mad that when my friend texted me and
said they had left early and were going to beat us there I was furious. My husband
could tell and was really quite and trying not to talk to me. This mad me more mad,
just before I was about to get mad at him for not talking I actually thought about
why I was mad. What was the real reason, was it something he did or was I just mad
at the situation. I realized it was the situation but what I needed was someone to

Mary Gillis
#8 Final Project

just say sorry to me anyways. So I told Taylor, I am sorry I am so angry, but I am

really frustrated and upset, what would make me feel better is if you said you are
sorry, even though what happened was out of your control. Then Taylor looked at
me and said, I am sorry but he didnt stop there he also said, thank you for talking
to me instead of just being mad all trip. This was a huge step for me that I never
would have done if it wasnt for this class and really applying what learned into my
life.

#10 Learn about a different Culture

Mary Gillis
#10 Final Project

My husband and I recently got a puppy this last year. As a result we have
been going to the dog park almost daily so he can socialize and get some exercise.
We met this couple who he is from India and she is from Russia. They are the nicest
people in the world and have the cutest yellow lab who is best friends with our dog.
3 months ago they just got married legally in the US, but Zac is Hindu so they are
doing back to India in February to get married there in his religion. I didnt realize
how important marriage is in his culture. It is a week long sometimes longer event,
it is divided into three parts, the pre-wedding, main, and post-wedding. The prewedding includes the preparations and a dinner the night before where the two
families can meet and get to know each other. There is also a lot of dancing.
The outfits that each wear are also very significant and the color can depend
on the family. For example Eva wanted to wear a purple sari but Zacs family
wanted her to wear a red one. No one in there family has ever worn any other color
besides red. The red has no real value it is just tradition that his family has always
done. She will have Mehndi, where she will have henna painted on her hands and
feet. It is believed that the deeper the color the stronger her love is for her husband.
This painting can take hours to accomplish. I watched a short film showing the
process, it is very intricate and beautiful. The day of the wedding they will have the
ceremony where they will have a few different acts to perform depending on the
God that is your families god as well as what your families traditions are. One that
they will be doing will be Saptapardi, Seven Steps Together. This signifies the
beginning of their journey through life together.
After the ceremony there will be another celebration where gifts are
exchanged and they will have more dancing. The next day they will travel to the
temple of the God that Zacs family worships and will brings gifts and will pray for
the couple. After that they will go on their honeymoon. I never realized just how
much there was. All of the planning that goes into the wedding is crazy, for Eva
since she is Russian and lives here it is mostly her in-laws that have been planning it
for her. She has really only been able to pick out her sari, which she really couldnt
choose the color. Either way she is really excited to go and get married and pay
respect to her new family and their religion. She is not Hindu but she can still
participate in the wedding and be married, she does not have to convert to the
religion.
Meeting them has really opened my eyes up to how uncultured and ignorant
America is and how we are in a way kind of lazy. Eva and Zac both have so many
customs and traditions in their culture. It has been really fun to get to know them
and ask them both questions about their culture. Especially around the holidays.
For example in Russia they dont celebrate Christmas in December, they have a
similar celebration in January to bring in the New Year and to celebrate the New
Year. Another fun fact I learned is most people who are Hindu are vegetarians. I
thought they only refrained from eating beef, but it turns out most of them are
vegetarians. This also opened my eyes up to how much meat I eat. Almost every
meal I prepare has some sort of meat in it.

Mary Gillis
#10 Final Project

It is very eye opening and fun to learn about new religions and
cultures. Not only that but hearing the things that America has taken from each one
or learning about what it really is like in Russia or India. It is such an enlightening
experience and I would encourage everyone to get out of them selves and
experience other cultures and people.

#15 Disability

Mary Gillis
#15 Final Project

For my mini experiment I chose to be deaf. Honestly I thought it would be

the easiest out of the things I could have done. I had earplugs at home and it was
something that I would still be able to complete my busy schedule. I also thought it
would be interesting choice because my dad only has hearing in one of his ears. He
was in a really bad car accident when he was in college, where he lost hearing in one
ear. Although he is not completely deaf it was still a really big adjustment for him. It
has also been hard because you cant tell by looking at him that he can only hear out
of one ear. So if you are standing on the wrong side trying to talk to him you end up
thinking he is ignoring you. This actually happened with my brother-in-law at my
wedding. He thought my dad was ignoring him but in reality he couldnt hear him
talking.
When I first put in the earplugs I was surprised at just how quite it was. We
live in an apartment below a clubhouse in an HOA community in Salt Lake and at the
time, there was a party going on upstairs. Once those earplugs were in I could no
longer hear them. At first it was nice but after a few minutes I realized I really
missed the background noise. I always have something noisy going on, my husband
watching sports, me watching T.V., listening to music, even when I am going to sleep
I have to have a fan on just for the noise. The silence was not very fun and almost felt
like I was in a dream.
A little later my husband came home. He was very excited that I was doing
this project and got a kick out of trying to talk as quietly as he could and then see
what I thought he said. Then he moved into saying funny phrases or stupid things
like crazy people say what. That got old real fast.
We then went out to dinner at Chilis. That was an adventure. It was so busy
there and the noise level was so high that I had a hard time realizing how loud or
quietly I was talking. So not only was I saying what all the time, my husband was
saying what. Having a full conversation was really difficult. Ordering wasnt too bad
as long as the waiter didnt ask more questions besides, what would you like to
order or how was your meal. When he strayed from the normal questions I had no
idea what he was saying and I would just smile and nod and hope Taylor answered
him.
I dont think other people besides Taylor really thought much about it or
reacted to me any differently. I did catch a couple people looking at my ears because
I had bright orange earplugs I but that isnt really an odd thing. I think if I had been
in a wheel chair or if I was blind. But no one really noticed me being any different.
Overall this experiment was a big challenge for me. I was so excited to take
the earplugs out. I realized though that people who are disabled couldnt just take
the earplugs out or start walking or take the glasses off. Even my introduction at the
beginning of the paper shows just how ignorant we are? NO disability is easier than
the other. They are all difficult but people can overcome them and learn to live life
with them and not let it define their life.

Dear Mom and Dad,

You probably are a little surprised that you have a letter from me in the
mailbox. Maybe then again, you are not. I was usually the one to do things different
and maybe a little weirder than everyone else in the family. Even though to most
parents this personality trait could be annoying or frustrating you and Dad never
made me feel that you were either one. You have always taught me to embrace my
personality and love it.
Mom, do you remember when I was in middle school and I would come home
crying almost everyday because my friends were being rude or a boy didnt like me
or he liked someone else? I bet you do, but what you might not remember is how
you handled it. You never judged me or got mad at me or said you didnt have time
to talk to me. You let me cry and talk and get upset at the situation and you just
listened to me and hugged me. I cant even begin to tell you how much that meant to
me. Or when I first got married and would call you when I was so stressed out and
frustrated because honestly, boy suck and dont know how to talk to me when I am
upset. They seem to always want to fix the problem or say what you could have
done differently. They dont know how to listen and let you cry or cry with you but
you always have. I know I dont always show it but I love you and I cant believe
how lucky I am to have you as a mom and therapist . I am grateful for you teaching
me so many things, how to cook, do laundry, clean (even though I may not always
seem like I know how), and most importantly how to be an amazing mother. I hope
that when I have children I am able to be at least half as good as you were. You
sacrificed so much for us and I will always be grateful for that.
Dad, you have always and I mean always been able to make me laugh. I used
to hate it when I was angry and wanted to be mad or upset and you would give me
that big smile and start tickling me or say dont smile. I love that we have always
been close and I have felt I could go to you and tell you anything. You have taught
me how to be a hard worker and how to sacrifice things that you want for your
family or for someone in need. I remember getting up early with you on Saturdays
when it snowed and going and shoveling walks with you. Or at least watching you
do it. I still cant believe how truly selfless you are. You are the most honest person
I have ever know and probably will ever know. You have taught me to be honest in
all of my life, even when the consequences are not fun at all. Thank you for being an
amazing father and for still being an amazing father.
I love you both so much!
Love always,
Mary

Mary Gillis

MG

Salt Lake City * 801.739.2198

mary.eliz.gillis@gmail.com

Skills for the Job

o
o
o
o

Great customer service skills

Fast learner
Positive and enthusiastic personality
Hard worker and self-motivated

Work Experience

Larson & Company PC

May 2014-Current

Administrative Assistant
o Purchase all office Supplies
o Process Tax Returns
o Proficient in Ultra Tax and CS Connect
o Ensure all office activities run smoothly

Eclipse Composites Engineering

Education

October 2012-May 2014

Receptionist/Account Payable
o Work with Vendors to negotiate the best price available and make
Purchase Orders
o Make and prepare all shipments.
o Maintain all companies important documents and paper work
o Plan all company parties and activities
o Keep track and enter into QuickBooks all receipts, POs, and
invoices.

Salt Lake Community College

2011-Summer 2016

Herriman High School

Graduated in 2011

o
o

Studying Accounting
Received Associates in Education Spring 2015

*References Available Upon Request*