How Shai Katz Became an Associate Director 20+ Years Before People Do

‘Oh God. I’m getting fired. This is how they’re doing it,’ thought Shai after waiting hours for people to show up.

It was his 3rd week at the company. He’d walked into work that day only to find the whole office empty. He waited 30 mins, and nobody showed up. An hour… and still no one. That was very strange. Fresh Prints was young at the time and there was almost always someone present at the office.

Shai Katz, Associate Director of Campus Management HR at Fresh Prints

‘This is it,’ he thought just before deciding to call his manager, Jolijt Tamanaha. 

‘Oh my God. Is there power in the building? We got an email that said there wouldn’t be! Did you not get it?’

He did not get fired that day. In fact, today, Shai Katz is the Associate Director of HR for Campus Managers. It’s even cooler when you realize that just a few years ago, he was a Campus Manager for Fresh Prints. Not only that, but there is not a single person at Fresh Prints who dislikes him at this company. We’re not exaggerating. Seriously. Ask any of us.  

But how did a Campus Manager for Fresh Prints become the Director of HR for Campus Managers in just a few years? We were curious too. 

We sat down to have a conversation with him about him and his work. He prepared his podcast voice for it and was let down when he realized it wasn’t going to be recorded. Some day, Shai. Some day. 

How did you become a Campus Manager?

I went to Binghamton University and majored in Psychology. It was in my Junior year when I got a Facebook message from someone I went to camp with about a part-time job opp. I liked opening myself up to new experiences so I applied. We were in the middle of finals week when I was getting trained for the job, and I remember thinking: “I don’t have time for this.” But I still pushed through and somehow started my work during Winter break in 2015.

I’m so glad I did for obvious reasons. After applying I found out that my school counselor was the CEO of the company, so it felt even more like it was meant to be.

Wow, small world! What was Shai as a CM like?

I was very annoying [laughs]. What I mean by that is I was doing many things at the same time. Our school recommended we take 4 courses per semester, I always took one extra. I was also doing research for labs while working 2 other part-time jobs. 

I let none of that go when I became a Campus Manager. I was keeping my grades up, doing my jobs, and whatever else came my way. It sounds like a lot but I still found time in the week to hang out with friends and binge-watch my shows. I think it worked because I was aggressive with my time management and was having fun while doing it.

What did a typical work day as a Campus Manager look like?

When you’re a Campus Manager, you’re almost always texting your friends on campus to get them custom apparel. So I was a big fan of texting in between classes or whenever I found gaps in my schedule. 

Once classes ended I’d go home 3 days of the week or stay back on campus for another desk job I had. On that job, I would study, watch my shows, or do Fresh Prints work. When I didn’t have to work that job, I’d go home to do more CM work or go out with friends and do something fun. It was definitely a mix of chaotic organization!

What did you like most about being a Campus Manager?

I loved working with Jolijt as my manager. Because she was terrifying. She’s someone who’d look fear in the face and go: ‘I don’t care, I’m gonna make what I want to happen.’ And that was very valuable for me. We spoke once a week and it was clear in our conversations that she actually cared about what was going on with me and my goals in life. 

I still vividly remember her reaction to that one time I had set a sales goal for my next semester. She said that if that was my goal, I could do it without her. I could always text her if I needed anything but meeting weekly wouldn’t be necessary. If I wanted to do double what I set, I could let her know. And of course, I didn’t want to back down so we doubled my goal. And as scary as that was at the time, I actually hit it by the end of that semester.

She inspired and pushed me in a way that many people in my life couldn't. I had many teachers and many professors who I was not nearly as interested in learning from in the same way.

What did you like least about being a Campus Manager?

I definitely struggled with outreach in the beginning. I’m an extroverted introvert. I enjoy meeting people and talking to them but it still drains me. Over time I got over it professionally but that was definitely a challenge at the start.

What were your biggest achievements as a Campus Manager? 

I sold $86,000 worth of apparel in my year and a half as a Campus Manager. But it really wasn’t about the money for me. I recognize that being able to say that comes from a place of privilege, but I didn’t really care about the money. It was great to earn it but it wasn’t my main goal. 

The connections I made through Fresh Prints and the growth I saw in myself professionally and personally were most valuable to me. I was most excited for those victories along the way.

How did you become a part of the Fresh Prints full-time team?

A day before my graduation, I was at this senior bar crawl when Jolijt called me. I was super drunk so I told her where I was and that I’d call back later. She Venmo’d me some money and said that the next round of drinks was on her and that we’d talk later. The next day, I graduated and sat jobless for all of 4 hours when she called me again.

We discussed this new role which was very vague at the time. I was interested in Industrial-Organizational Psychology so we talked about how I could work full-time with them on recruiting and training new Campus Managers. I was excited about having a prospect and being able to continue working with Jolijt. I was also one of the first Campus Managers to be recruited to the full-time team, which was really cool.

I’m not sure what I did right, exactly but I must've done something well because I got the job!

Tell us about your journey at Fresh Prints. 

I started as a Campus Manager selling custom apparel at my campus. Did my best there and joined Fresh Prints as a Recruitment and Training Associate. Basically ran info calls for students interested in becoming Campus Managers, interviewed applicants, and helped them go through training and becoming Campus Managers. 

Until a few months ago I was a Recruitment and Training Manager with my kickass team of Ayushi and Radha. They took over a lot of the work I did as an associate. Not going to lie, they do it so much better than I do. We’ve now hired a lot more people to work with Ayushi and Radha.

I am now the Associate Director of HR for Campus Managers. The new title changes my day-to-day work a bit but mostly changes the way I think about my work. I have to take an additional step back to think about the strategy and trajectory of the teams and how we approach everything we want to do. 

For the longest time, when we’ve wanted to do new things it required putting something else on the backburner. With all our progress and growth as a team, I hope to soon have a time where making improvements to systems or starting new projects doesn’t mean we’re ignoring something else but it means that different people are working on it.

What are your overall thoughts on your growth?

Every decision you make matters. I know that thought hits you differently depending on your mood but thinking back to it all is crazy. What if I didn’t respond to that Facebook message? What if I didn’t take Jolijt up on the challenge to set my goals higher? I would’ve been a completely different person, probably doing something entirely different.

I'm grateful for what I've learned and the people I get to work with. I know that I've gotten an insane amount of experience that I should not have gotten. Definitely should not have been trusted with as much as I've been trusted with. So I'm very grateful for Fresh Prints and the opportunities being a part of the company has given me.

Last but not the least: How does one do your podcast voice?

Great question. Probably the most important of them all. I use my podcast voice as an icebreaker when I meet new people and it’s always a hit. There are two ways to do it.

Some people get really serious and quiet and other people are much louder and more engaged and want to get excited. So ultimately you have to find a podcast vibe and match it. I’m happy to help you find yours.

If you'd like to become a Campus Manager or just join our company to ask Shai how to do a killer podcast voice --> Click here.