As the first person to be interviewed as part of our new Campus Celeb alum series, we wanted to feature a recent grad that was doing something a little out of the ordinary. Sydney Bouchard graduated from Bentley in 2014 and is now working in an industry near and dear to many Bentley hearts. When I met up with Sydney at Einstein’s, she was headed to Boston that evening for a Women Who Whisky event. Can you say “job envy”…
HC: So the big stuff first: Whereabouts right now are you working since you’ve graduated from Bentley?
SB: I work for a distillery called Saxton’s River Distillery from Brattleboro, Vermont. We make a maple liquor, a maple whisky, a maple rye and a coffee liqueur.
HC: How did you find out about this job?
SB: I actually saw it online by chance. It’s two hours from where I grew up in Vermont and two hours from Boston.
HC: Very cool! What are you doing for the company on a typical day?
SB: So for the company I’m actually the only non-distiller. I do everything pretty much when it comes to marketing. I do all the social media and events. We’re in 11 states at the moment, so I work with our sales reps in the states and make sure they’re doing their part and selling our products. I really just try to put a face to the website.
HB: Alright so we have to ask, what’s the story behind this Martha Stewart picture?
SB: I was at my favorite event so far, it was at the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival in Newport, Rhode Island. I think it $250 per ticket and attendees get to go try all the wines and fancy foods. I managed to get us in; we were the only spirits company there. There were fancy parties and I got to bring my two best friends. Martha Stewart was there signing books and I decided she needed some alcohol after a long day of signing, so I brought her a nip of our maple liquor. I literally dropped it on the table and was scrambling and fumbling. She thought it was maple syrup…
HC: Awesome story! So looking back to your four years at Bentley, what do you miss the most about school?
SB: Einstein’s everything bagels with veggie cream cheese. No, I would definitely say living with my best friends and getting to see them everyday. Now I only see them when I travel or bring the alcohol. I definitely took that for granted while I was at Bentley.
HC: What was your favorite Bentley memory from senior year?
SB: Definitely the Bahamas trip. Going to the Bahamas with 400 of your friends is just never going to happen again. It’s like it wasn’t real.
HC: Do you have any specific advice for freshman and for seniors?
SB: Seniors don’t stress about not getting a job just because all the finance kids have one. Living with mom and dad for a few months isn’t that bad, really!
Freshmen don’t worry so much about what people think. I did too much. Being yourself will be much more fun!
HC: So as much as you loved Bentley, is there anything that’s better in the real world?
SB: Not having to do homework all the time. When I was a student here, even if I was free, there was always something to do. It’s so nice to be able to just relax and watch TV after work and not have the fear of forgotten homework assignmentss or readings looming over your head.
HC: Do you have a favorite Her Campus memory?
SB: I wrote this anonymous article about group projects and it was awesome because I got to vent about them finally. I suppose now that I’m graduated it’s ok to announce it was me! Meetings were always fun too.
HC: If you had to give a potential Her Campus member a reason (or more!) or join, what would you say?
SB: You get to say and do whatever you want, it lets you have your own voice. You can join it completely by yourself and you’ll still make friends in the group. But you can bring your friends too! It’s helped me in terms of being a leader, and being able to articulate myself better.
HC: This last one’s a bit open-ended…Do you have any final thoughts or comments you want to throw out there to the Bentley community?
SB: Don’t worry. Things will always work out! In my head I was way behind, but you’re really not. It’s much better than you may think it is.
For those of you who may be 21 years or older, you can find out more about the distillery Sydney works for at http://saplingliqueur.com.