Meet this week’s campus celeb Allie Hardy! When she’s not knee deep working as the brand manager for Pine PR, you can find this campus celeb binge-watching her favorite show.
Name: Allie Hardy
Major: Advertising
Minor: Multimedia Art, Business Administration
Year: Junior
Hometown: San Diego, California
HCO: How did you get involved with Pine PR?
I got involved with Emerald Media Group fall of my sophomore year of college when I started feeling antsy about not being involved, not having enough experience, not getting a job, becoming homeless, etc. Everyone feels that way at some point, right?
HCO: What led you to your leadership role within Pine PR?
I started as a marketing coordinator for the Emerald newspaper before Pine even existed. Specifically, I was responsible for producing social media content and tabling for Ducks Housing. In spring 2014, I applied for the assistant director of marketing position and got it, which made me feel equal parts freaked out and excited. Over the summer, we transitioned from just marketing efforts for the newspaper to offering public relations services for clients in the community working alongside the Venture Dept. and called ourselves Pine PR. Now I am the director of brand management for our agency.
HCO: What has been your favorite event to work on?
Ah, that’s tough. I love 25 Ducks and Best of Campus for the same reason: we get to recognize individuals that might not get recognition in other ways and it’s obvious how much it means to them. Those are the heartwarming events where we walk away afterward thinking “Wow, we actually do great stuff for the people in our community.”
I love the Undie Run because even though it’s a LOT of work to execute, it’s fun and funny. It invites people to come be themselves in their underwear around hundreds of other people who are equally exposed. It’s a great way to blow off some steam before finals week and I think it encourages all types of people to embrace their bodies and differences and be silly for a couple of hours!
Events are tricky because they require months of planning to get going, then they happen and it’s over just like that. I think it only takes one person thanking us for hosting an event or expressing how much fun they had to make that process worth it.
HCO: Are you involved in other groups on campus?
I am part of the Journalism Honors Program which is pretty neat.
HCO: What made you interested in your major/journalism?
This is obscure, but the movie Valentine’s Day inspired me to be a publicist because of the quirky publicist in that movie who eats chocolates while walking on a treadmill. After a lackluster internship at a small marketing agency doing mostly press releases and media relations, I decided I wanted a career that allows more creative ambition. That’s what lead me to advertising. I was always kind of interested in design which inspired the multimedia art minor, but when that got too artsy I added the business minor to bring some logic and math back into my education.
HCO: What do you like to do on your free time?
I enjoy being outside hiking, driving, walking, whatever. One thing I love about San Diego is that the sunshine makes it hard to stay inside. The weather in Oregon makes it a little bit easier to stay inside all day, but when the sun does come out it’s a beautiful thing. I also enjoy binge-watching entire seasons of TV shows, playing with dogs, practicing calligraphy and going wine tasting.
HCO: What type of job are you looking for after graduation?
I want to work in the account management sector of advertising at an agency that is fairly casual. One of those ones with orange walls with big, motivating messages on them and yoga ball chairs and an agency dog or two. These places really exist. My dream job is to be an author of children’s books, but I figure that since I went to college for advertising, I should probably do some of that first.