A new month means a new HC BC alum featured as our Campus Celebrity. We took some time to chat with Caitlin Mann, a former HC BC Campus Correspondent and BC class of 2013 alum. It has been almost a year since she handed over the HC BC reins and embarked on her post-graduation journey. Let’s see what she has been up to and what she misses the most about life on the Heights.
The BC Days
1. What were you involved in at BC?
While I was at BC, I was part of the BC Irish Dance team, on the Honors Program Student Council, and worked at O’Neill Library. But my favorite activity was being a part of the HC BC team, of course!
2. What was your role with HC BC?
I joined the HC BC team during my sophomore year, pretty soon after the organization started. As a sophomore, I was a writer. After writing for a year, I became Publicity Director/Co-President, then spent my last semester at BC as Editor-in-Chief.
3. What was your proudest accomplishment at BC?
That’s difficult… As cheesy as this sounds, my proudest accomplishment was managing to balance all of the things I took on during my career at BC. Somehow, I was miraculously able to balance working 15-20 hours a week with competitively dancing, HC BC duties, my classes, having a social life, and having fun. It definitely prepared me for real life.
4. What do you miss the most about BC?
I really miss being so close to all of my friends all of the time. I think I took it for granted that I could just wake up and grab breakfast with my group of friends every day without prior notice. Now, we’re all spread out around Boston, and the country, and something like that requires far too much preplanning.
5. What experiences at BC helped you get to where you are today?
I definitely learned the value of balancing hard work with fun. Loading my schedule up with classes and other activities helped me manage time (unbelievably valuable now) and helped me figure out when I need to take a break and do something to relax.
The ‘Real World’
1. What are you doing in your post-BC life?
I’m working in a marketing and business development role for an “Innovation Management” company. It’s great because it feels a lot like a pseudo-startup, so I’m learning a lot about every different aspect of the business.
2. What is a typical day in the life of a worker bee?
Waking up far too early, dressing “professionally,” trekking to the office (often in an over-crowded T, full of grumpy people), drinking a lot of coffee, chatting with my co-workers, making to-do lists, checking things off, going to meetings, leading phone calls, going out to lunch (and sometimes dinner or cocktails), finishing the day, heading to the gym, and going home to do chores and relax. I try to get lunch or dinner with friends at least once a week and I call friends and family whenever I’m walking around the city.
3. What is your proudest accomplishment in the real world thus far?
Finding a way to have a full-time job that I love while also teaching dance as frequently as possible (and not having to give up something that was a huge part of my life).
4. Any fun stories from living in Boston?
Nothing particular comes to mind, but I would definitely say that Boston is a lot more fun when you take the time to explore it and take advantage of all the really unique, exciting things it has to offer. It’s a much bigger adventure now than it was when I was still at BC, and I love it.
Photo Sources:
Caitlin Mann’s personal photos