It seems like bees aren’t the only busy ones in the animal kingdom now that this Purebred has moved to NYC. A graduate of Penn’s 2012 class and a valued member of Sigma Kappa, Grace Ortelere has moved on to doing big things in New York with her Sigma Kappa roommates, Eileen Norton and Gina Cotter.
 |
| Grace (center) with her NYC roommates, fellow SKs Gina (left) and Eileen |
****
1. What year did you graduate?
2012
2. What lineage are you in?
Purebreds (the first lineage in SK, holla.)
3. Where are you working now?
I work at HMX Group as Community Manager, in NYC. I manage the social media marketing strategy for brands Hickey Freeman, Hart Schaffner Marx, Bobby Jones, Misook, and others.
4. What is a typical working day like?
In the morning, I check the various social media accounts—Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Wordpress, and post or respond to comments. I also measure growth in followers and interaction with our brand. I also spend part of the morning getting inspiration for marketing projects, reading about men’s fashion trends and looking through archival images and information that we have on the brands. For example, one of our brands, Hart Schaffner Marx, is 125 years old. When I was reading about our history recently, I discovered former president Dwight D. Eisenhower wore HSM suits. This inspired me to research the trends of his time period and other presidential fashion, which will guide my social media strategy during the rest of the election period.
In the afternoon, I work on posts for blog.hickeyfreeman.com, which I launched recently for our Hickey Freeman brand. Writing for and editing the blog has allowed me to go to the set of CSI to meet Gary Sinise, attend artist Robert Dutesco’s gallery launch, and meet some amazing people. Today I am working on a write-up of an event I attended last week and transcribing an interview with a men’s fashion consultant. I also interact with people across the company to keep abreast of other marketing initiatives and company news to include in our social media marketing efforts.
I also run contests and sweepstakes to help build our followers and encourage interaction with our brands. Today I am creating a contest focusing on fall corduroy pants for one of our brands. I work closely with merchandising, our email marketing coordinator, and our design director to integrate these promotions across various platforms.
When I leave work at 6, my job doesn’t end. I’m constantly answering Tweets at all hours of the day, or taking pictures of interesting scenes around Manhattan to upload on Instagram. I feel personal responsibility for our success on social media, and will often check all the accounts in my free time. When I see that others are excited about what I’m posting on social media, it makes me excited about it. That’s why I love my job.
5. What is your favorite thing about living in New York?
My favorite thing about living in New York is the amount of stimulation. Every day there is an art exhibit to view, a new restaurant to try, a friend visiting, a class to take, a race to run, an interesting performance in the middle of Union Square to look at for a few minutes. I have to remind myself that I have the rest of my life to do all these activities—otherwise I would never sleep.
6. How did SK prepare you for life after college?
SK prepared me for life after college because it allowed me to be comfortable with myself. I was surrounded by a group of strong women who accepted my personality, I gained confidence. It was a sorority sister who encouraged me to apply to be the Editor-in-Chief of the Her Campus UPenn branch, another sister who helped me practice for my cheer team audition (and comforted me when I didn’t make the team!), many SK sisters who worked with me at the Daily Pennsylvanian, and two more SK sisters who signed a lease agreement with me on our first “real life” apartment in New York. As a college student, I would never have had the strength to do those things on my own. Thanks to those experiences, I have the poise to accomplish these feats and more in my life after college.
7. What is your favorite SK memory?
My favorite SK memory was our formal my senior year. This was my last event as a Sigma Kappa before becoming an alum of the sorority. A few friends and I all brought girl friends at dates instead of guys, and a huge group of us went to dinner at the infamous Charles Plaza. We spent the night together as an inclusive group of friends, dancing and not caring how we looked. Of course, we moved the party to Smokes afterward and ended the night with a trip to the frozen foods section of Fro Gro. Perfection.
8. What advice do you have for the SK girls at Penn?
My advice to the SK girls at Penn is to follow things that really interest you. I wasted two years taking classes I disliked because I thought I had to major in a certain subject so that I could get a job. I finally woke up and switched to Psychology courses, pursued writing and editing at the Daily Pennsylvanian, and held a position as social chair for Sigma Kappa. The positive psychology course I loved at Penn and the time I waited hours outside a Philadelphia jail in the cold for a DP article continue to be much better subjects of conversation for job interviews and making new connections. You will be pleasantly surprised to find that your seemingly silly interests have strong real world applications. Looking back, I can safely say I wouldn’t change a thing about my major, sorority, or extracurricular activities.
 |
| SK lin: Grace, Mae and Amanda at the last lin din Grace’s senior year |
 |
| SK senior formal: Grace’s friends and their girl "dates" at their senior year SK formal |
 |
| SK and the city: meet up Grace organized with SK and SK alumnae in New York city this summer |
-Monika Haebich
