Content Social Media Specialist
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
Emma started her first year of college as a business major. After taking some freshman-level courses, she firmly said "nope." She wanted to express her creativity, strengthen her problem solving skills and do hands-on work. Naturally, she fell in love with advertising. She claims that, to this date, switching her major was the best decision of her life.
Emma is currently working at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business in Ithaca, New York as a content social media specialist. Her list of responsibilities is long, including curating fresh content, managing and organizing ideas, people and dates, scheduling content and making recommendations for 18 social media platforms, just to name a few.
Right before Emma started her position, three separate Cornell colleges merged. Previously, there was an actual agency doing her job. She got to build the newly merged school's online presence from the ground up. When the college got a generous endowment of $150 million from Cornell alumnus Fisk Johnson, Emma was on the front lines of announcements, event coverage and public relations. In fact, she often covers Cornell-related events, such as the Innovator Awards.
"It’s busy, stressful and exciting, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I can see that I have made a huge difference."
Emma credits her success to the guidance she received at the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. The college prepared her to understand people with different perspectives, work hard, think creatively, come up with 50 ideas in an hours, write skillfully, strategize thoroughly, be a leader and understand when it's time to be a follower.
"I could write a full book of all the incredible professors that helped me get to where I am. I can never put into words how much I owe my them and how much they mean to me. The professors in the CoJMC actually care about you and want to help you succeed."
During her senior year, Emma wanted to polish her online video skills. When she couldn't settle on a specific class, she made her own independent study.
"If you want to learn something, people here will help you make it happen."
Looking back on her years at University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Emma's glad that she followed her gut. She spent time doing the things she loved instead of wasting hours on something that made her feel nothing. She understood that she can't be good at everything, and that's not a bad thing. It's no surprise that her mantra is "Work hard, do what you like to do and don't be a jerk."