Meghan Gillen '14
What was your major?
Communications and Rhetoric
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Meghan Gillen. I graduated from Nazareth in May of 2014. Originally I wanted to go into Physical Therapy but realized it wasn’t my passion and changed to Communications, where I found my niche. I am a huge nerd and like the majority of the population, watch way too much Netflix. It was actually my obsession with media that led me to Communications; where else can you write about Breaking Bad as a paper in college or do your senior thesis on Futurama?
What internships and activities are you currently participating in or have completed?
While at Nazareth I made sure that I kept busy. During the summer after my junior year I participated in an internship for Marketing at a local company called Lobel’s of New York. The work was mainly collecting and analyzing data regarding what was going on with the company on line, it gave me a really good introduction to the Marketing field. The following spring I became the Marketing and Event Planning Intern at the Ad Council of Rochester. Knowing that I would be graduating that May I wanted to get new experiences and connections out of this internship, and I achieved both. I was able to help with several events, aid with PR, and utilize my graphic design skills to create various forms of advertising. On campus I wrote for the Gleaner several times which gave me an outlet to write creatively aside from assigned papers. I also worked two jobs on campus, one in Career Services and the other with Emily Carpenter in the Internship program. Both jobs allowed me to obtain both skills and connections that undoubtedly helped with my post-graduate career.
How did you get involved with Career Services and what resources would you recommend to other students?
I transferred to Naz the spring of my sophomore year. Come fall my junior year, I went to Career Services to get help with my resume. Danielle really helped me reorganize and fine tune my content, you never really know how many little things you wouldn’t think to do that could make an employer more likely to consider you. As previously mentioned, the next semester I started working for Career Services and I saw the benefits not only for myself but for every student that came in to meet with a Career Counselor. Personally speaking I have spoken with all of the counselors about various career questions; resume writing, grad school, possible future paths etc. They really are a valuable resource and help you not only with the tangible tasks (resumes, cover letters, etc.) but they really help give you peace of mind about the ever-daunting future. Besides actually meeting with a counselor, one of the resources that I really found helpful was HireAFlyer. The people who post jobs there really are looking for Nazareth students/grads specifically. It was how I found both jobs on campus and also the job I currently have now.
What do you/did you like most about being a Nazareth College student?
As I said, Nazareth was the second school to attend. What made me transfer was a lack of personal attention that I received at my previous school. I was more of a number than a name. At Nazareth every professor I have ever had not only knows my name in class, but seeing them in passing two years later, they remember me and ask me how I am doing. Speaking specifically about my major, the Comm/Rhet program allowed me to further explore all of my options within the Communications field; Public Relations, Marketing, Graphic Design, Journalism etc. This helped me find exactly what I liked best and having a wide range of knowledge within the field has proven to be valuable. In interviews being a jack of all trades, in a manner of speaking, really wowed employers.
What are your plans for the future?
Currently I work as a Digital Marketing Specialist for a company called American Aerogel. The company manufactures and sells insulated packaging solutions for temperature sensitive products. It is a highly advanced technology that allows important products, like pharmaceuticals, that need to stay at a constant specific temperature to be shipped for a few days. I work with the engineers in the company as well as the sales team to help create ways to get our product known in the industry. Although a fairly new company, we are rising fast in the industry and even have NASA as one of our clients! I really love my job and the environment that I work in. I plan on staying here for the foreseeable future, but I know that eventually I want to become a Marketing Director and have a little more responsibility. Once I gain enough experience and knowledge, I plan on branching out.