Exploring the Intersection of Music 和 Business on the International Stage

New Daniels College of Business alumna Leah Pring combines her passions through research into how Kazakhstan’s blossoming Q-Pop music scene could drive economic growth.

“Whether it’s studying in Sweden or digging into the Kazakhstani pop music scene, Leah Pring (BSBA ’24) loves exploring new things 和 making new connections.”

在她的最后一年, 她把自己对商业的热情结合起来, 旅行和她对音乐的热爱, 写一个 丹尼尔斯区分论文 that uncovered parallels between Korea’s K-Pop 和 Kazakhstan’s Q-Pop music scenes 和 proposed ways to harness the power of music to boost international tourism 和 economic growth.

3月, Pring graduated with distinction with a bachelor’s in marketing, 她从高中就开始感兴趣了. “I had the opportunity to take a marketing class 和 loved the creative side of it 和 how unique 和 different it can be,她说。. 辅修数据分析, 印刷面积表示, was the perfect way to round out the creative aspects of marketing with technical, 数据驱动的技能.

And her love for creativity goes beyond the business world. The Boulder native is equally passionate about music. “我以不同的方式参与音乐, 从很小的时候就开始学习小提琴, 去听音乐会，创作自己的音乐. I love the cohesion that it brings 和 the fact that people all over the world can come together over music,她说。.

Her passion for discovery is apparent in her music tastes, too. “我总是喜欢探索新的类型，”普林说. And when a cousin 和 a roommate both clued her in to K-Pop, a widely beloved South Korean genre that blends pop, 电子嘻哈和其他音乐风格, often accompanied by choreographed on-stage dance routines, 普林的兴趣被激起了.

这种兴趣很快就产生了. 随着她对韩国流行音乐和韩国的了解越来越多, she started hearing about Kazakh artists 和 started getting into Q-Pop. “I was really interested in looking at it from of a marketing lens 和 underst和ing how a country like South Korea has used music to bolster its national image.”

当她要写论文的时候, 普林结合了她对音乐的热情, 市场营销和国际开拓, researching K-Pop’s role in the growth of the South Korean economy 和 finding ways in which Q-Pop can be harnessed to similar effect—exp和ing the genre’s presence internationally, 创造就业机会，促进哈萨克斯坦经济发展.

While her research 和 travels have taken her around the globe, 普林也在校园里留下了自己的印记, 保持在 Sigma 商务联谊会, 商界女性 以及DU营销协会. 她曾在Got Bag实习, a German startup that builds travel products out of recycled ocean plastic, 和康卡斯特, further sharpening her marketing skills 和 gaining an underst和ing of the industry. After graduating, she will start a position with international tech consulting firm RSM.

Her time at the University has certainly made its mark on Pring, too—from classes like sports 和 entertainment marketing, where she dove deep into different marketing niches to her study abroad program in Sweden, where she learned the ins 和 outs of international marketing 和 Swedish history, saw the northern lights 和 spent her weekends travelling.

Beyond acquiring professional skills 和 marketing acumen, 普林说，自大一以来，她改变了很多. “I think the quarter system offered a lot of opportunities to develop my skill sets 和 to grow both personally 和 professionally because I had so many more opportunities 和 classes to take,她说。.

她在杜克大学最大的收获是, 她说, is to take advantage of the opportunities that arise 和 not be afraid to “go for it.”

“You never know what experiences are going to lead to your next opportunities. 我认为每一次经历都是很棒的经历, whether it's finding out what you love or what you don't love.”