Alumna Lands Job as Content Marketing Manager at Insight Marketing Solutions Friday, January 30, 2015
Meet Richelle Szypulski
Degree earned: B.A. in multimedia and mass communication, 2013
Job title and employer: Content Marketing Manager, Insight Marketing Solutions
Hometown: Lower Burrell, Pa.
Now living in: Pittsburgh, Pa.
High school: Burrell High School
College activities: The Globe, Honors Student Organization, Campus Activities Board, worked in the Office of Admissions, co-founded the Fashion Club and taught fitness classes at the Student Center
Hobbies/interests: Photography, traveling, yoga, reading, writing, filling notebooks with lists
Twitter: @richelleski
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/richelleszypulski
What are your current job responsibilities?
The fancy answer is that I provide creative and editorial direction for our clients' content strategies and optimize copy for grammar, consistency, and search and social performance. What that really means is that I lead the team that writes copy for blogs, emails, new websites, site updates, social media, and digital, print, radio, and TV ads. Our agency is relatively small, albeit exponentially talented, so there are days I may find myself working on every facet of that media gemstone, but it's a lot of fun to be able to mix it up.
How did you land your current job?
It was, surprisingly, the simplest process. I found the listing online for a social media manager position at Insight Marketing Solutions. I had a phone interview, an in-office interview and then got a call that I was hired. I'd say I landed the job thanks to the combination of the skills and experiences I'd gained from Point Park and the fact that I'm constantly craving more new skills and experiences. Also, it helped that I've nailed the execution of the interview outfit.
Why was Point Park a good fit for you?
I am a person that likes to participate in as many activities as possible in the span of 24 hours; the further uncorrelated they are, the better. Point Park was an exceptional environment for that. With a tight-knit campus in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh, it was teeming with opportunities for involvement, leadership and lattes to keep me awake for it all. I somehow managed to satiate my need for more classes, clubs, activities, events, internships and part-time jobs. And yet, even with all of these opportunities, it was the quirky, driven and passionate people I met who made my time there truly worth it. The relationships I formed with friends and faculty are second to none.
Describe what it was like to be a student at Point Park.
I came into my first year so excited to learn about media and communications and write paper after paper after paper, and that was great. But it only took me about a week to realize there was even more learning to be done outside of class. Through Point Park, I got invaluable internships with places like Pittsburgh Magazine and neo-retro online retailer ModCloth. I was given the chance to travel affordably to Los Angeles for a broadcast media conference, Seattle to build homes, Maine to present a research project, New York City to network with companies like Warby Parker and The New York Times, and Italy and Germany to tour and learn from some of the world's most influential media entities.
What are your career goals?
In the next few years, I'm planning on going back to school for my master's in publishing - that industry fascinates me to no end - and I have my sights set on a doctorate and eventually becoming a professor. I love the collegiate atmosphere, or really any atmosphere that cultivates learning, growth and somewhat balanced intervals of stress and satisfaction. Career-wise, I want to keep telling good stories and helping others to tell good stories, whether that's from a magazine page, a brand's social account, a blog, a bookshelf, a camera, or behind a classroom podium. My overall goal is to help fill the world with good stories.
Anything else you would like to add?
Point Park offers a smorgasbord of opportunities for students to really make an impact within the community. If you take advantage of them, you'll be inspired. You'll grow. You'll learn to see the world in a multitude of different ways. And you'll leave Point Park with so much more than a degree. I know I did.