Please give a brief background on yourself and your career.
Ha! Sorry, when I see “your career” I have to chuckle just a little because I don’t think of myself as having a “career.” I have entered doors when they opened, and left when I was ready for something new. Today, I am in graduate school pursuing my master’s degree in communication studies, and I am working with a startup (Nomic) developing marketing and strategy. Somewhere along the way, I taught myself to DJ, and I perform at events around the world with my husband, who is a professional violinist.
How has your career changed since you originally envisioned it at Wellesley? What other careers did you consider as a student?
While at Wellesley, I was an American Studies major, and I minored in education. However, I dedicated most of my energy to making Wellesley fun. I was DOOCA and managed Molly’s. (Is that still the campus pub?) I dressed like a cow for month in an attempt to earn an internship at Rolling Stone. I threw a rave in Keohane. I picked up Big Boi of Outkast in my Ford Explorer from Logan Airport. My plan was to go to California and teach elementary school. Why California? I am not sure. I am from Georgia, so perhaps I just had an urge to traverse the country. But, I did not end up in California. My senior year I was recruited by Lehman Brothers to become an investment banking analyst. The door opened, and I went to Manhattan to work for Lehman. Three months after I started 9/11 happened. I finished my first year with Lehman, and I quit because it was not the career for me. I didn’t have a plan, so I moved back to Atlanta. I worked as a server in a fancy seafood restaurant, was a nanny for a family, and sold MINI Coopers at baseball legend Hank Aaron’s car dealership. (He was always impressed that I had attended Wellesley.) My third day selling MINI Coopers I took my first customer on a test drive. Two and a half years later he would become my husband. Bobby (my husband) is a professional violinist, and I spent several years managing his career. I booked his shows. I handled his PR. I wrote his newsletter. I also pursued other freelance writing opportunities. We moved to Las Vegas in 2008, and in 2010, I decided I was ready for a new experience. Yelp was hiring for the first Las Vegas Community Manager, and I decided to apply. I was hired, and spent three years working for Yelp. The position allowed me to utilize all of my past experiences: event-planning, marketing, and writing. As you can see, the one path I envisioned–elementary school teacher–is the one path I have not pursued.
How has Wellesley contributed to your career?
For me, Wellesley has meant that I could pursue whatever I wanted to pursue. My classes and experiences taught me to be open-minded and thoughtful. I have learned that whether you are waiting tables, selling cars or developing marketing strategies, a Wellesley education is invaluable.
What is a typical work day or work week like for you?
I balance my work with attending grad school, and my work includes marketing for Nomic and performing as a DJ. My average day at Nomic might include reviewing social media content, providing feedback about product design to our developers, writing a blog post, meeting with potential event partners, interviewing beta testers, and brainstorming marketing strategies with my boss. I work on those tasks Monday through Thursday, and then wake up Friday, catch a plane to wherever our performance might be, and when I arrive, work on updating and organizing my music for the show. On Saturday, we load in and sound check in the afternoon, and then our event might last until midnight. On Sunday, we fly home, and then on Monday, I start over again!
What piece of advice would you offer students looking to get into your area of interest and expertise?
I think that regardless of what you think you want to do the most important thing is experience, however small you may think it is or however underpaid you think you are. Take advantage of every opportunity that you have to gain experience and seek out ways to gain that experience. If you want to write, start writing and trying to get published. If you want to get into marketing, start marketing. (Every student organization needs a marketing-minded member.) If you want to DJ, go to Guitar Center, get the basic DJ equipment, and start DJing. Wellesley is rich with opportunities. Take advantage of them all.
What do you wish you had known as a student?
On a very practical level, I wish I would have created relationships with professors. I was so busy planning parties that I failed to create an academic family, and I regret that. I especially regretted it when I was applying to graduate school and needed recommendation letters! Even so, I still got accepted, so nothing is insurmountable, which leads me to my more motivational poster insight: Whatever you want to do, you can do it. There are no careers, no paths, no companies, no ideas–nothing that is off limits. All you need to do is move confidently in the direction of your happiness.
If you could come back and take one class at Wellesley what would it be?
I always regret not learning how to golf.