Name: Julianna Buck
Age: 21
Hometown: West Grove, PA
Year: Senior
Major: Marketing Communications
What are your hobbies and passions?
I love dancing. Specifically tap dancing, but I like all kinds of dance. I’m very passionate about event planning, especially weddings (that’s kind of the dream). I am also passionate about art. I know that sounds so vague, but I mean it. In theory I like doing art, but I opt more to be in creative environments that don’t require me to be painting. That’s part of why I love Emerson – because it’s such a creative artistic environment. I also volunteer over at the MFA.
Why Emerson?
I first looked at Emerson when my sister was looking at colleges (I was 13). I really like the balance [at Emerson]. I knew I wanted to do either marketing, graphic design, or communications, but I also wanted to do the things I was passionate about. Emerson strikes a balance of having the academics I wanted in a field I could thrive in, while still having the social and extracurricular aspects that I thought were important. Dance has always been my number one passion, and it’s been an integral part of my happiness here.
What are you involved in on campus?
I was the chair of the orientation program this year; I am in Emerson Urban Dance Theater as a member of the tap company and Director of Production (I plan the show for the fall); I am a sister of Alpha Epsilon Phi, co-chairing the annual breast cancer fundraiser Ribbons on the Runway – a fashion show and silent auction; I recently started doing tours as a Student Ambassador; I work in Student Life, and I am the Campus Climate Committee Undergraduate Student Rep this fall for the Office of Diversity and Inclusion – we will be putting out a survey to the entire campus to talk about the campus environment (atmosphere, inclusivity, etc.)
Can you talk more about your work as Orientation Chair?
Core Staff is comprised of 8 people in total – 7 Core Staff members and a chair (me). I was hired last October, and have been working since then full time in the Student Life office, putting together the logistical side of everything Orientation Leaders do. I had a number of responsibilities, but primarily [my responsibility was] to help the rest of Core Staff succeed. It’s difficult to explain exactly what I did because it was not only different every day, but different any minute of the day. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. I wasn’t totally sure what I was getting into, but I’ve learned so much and absolutely loved every minute of it.
What are you involved in outside of school?
At the MFA I am a “visitor way-finding specialist.” I work in the visitor center, giving directions, helping people find specific exhibits…My favorite question that I’ve gotten was when someone asked, “Where is the art?” I am a hostess at Audubon over by Fenway, which I really, really like. I love hostessing because, wanting to be a party planner, it feels like being a hostess. Audubon is awesome because it is a great balance between being casual and being incredibly hospitable. It’s helped calm me down. What else? I eat a lot of ice cream. I have fun sometimes, I promise.
What was your most memorable #soemerson moment of orientation this year?
I was walking down the street, and I see these two girls who are walking past each other. They kind of look at each other like, “do I know you? I feel like I know you.” Then one girl goes, “I know you from Snapchat!” It made me feel really old! People are snapchatting people they don’t know!
What do you want to do after you graduate?
I would love to work for one of the larger, more upscale hotels in Boston. Working on events ideally, but any sort of customer service to get my foot in the door. I don’t know that I would want to run my own company, because it might take away some of the joy I get from planning events. I would like to establish myself enough that I can enjoy what I’m doing with my career and also have time and be financially stable enough to do the things I love such as dance and travel.