Nicole Childress is a graduate of Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY where she received her B.S. in Strategic Marketing. She will attend Trinity College Dublin where she will earn a M.Sc. Marketing. While at Trinity, Nicole will study the relationship between brands and national identity. She will specifically research the Guinness brand as it relates to Irish culture as a case study for how brands and culture shape one another. For her honors thesis, Nicole studied student perceptions of Western Kentucky University’s brand. Her research at Trinity will expand on her undergraduate research and promote a better understanding of the implications of branding a business around a culture