Some students arrive on campus their freshman year and begin testing the waters of change one toe at a time. Others, like sophomore Haley Peckman, dive right into the water and swim! Upon her arrival at Drexel last year, 19-year-old Peckman and a friend teamed up with TOMS Shoes to create Drexel’s TOMS Campus Club. The motivation behind Peckman’s cause began five years ago when she first heard of the shoe brand.
“I was instantly inspired by the One-for-One business model,” said Peckman, a Business Administration major; “[Reading] Blake Mycoskie’s book “Start Something That Matters” is one of many experiences I hold at the core of my professional and personal purpose, as I am pursuing a career in both the fashion industry and social entrepreneurship.”
Peckman not only admired the company’s model, but she also jumped at the opportunity to network with other Dragons interested in “for-profit/for-good” companies. As Vice President of the club, Peckman assists the president with the logistics of running a university organization in addition to publicizing the club and creating fun events on campus like a barefoot picnic, a documentary screening, and a barefoot run up the Philadelphia Art Museum steps!
“My favorite part of managing the TOMS Campus club has been creating a buzz on campus not only about the TOMS movement, but also about doing good for others through our collective consumer actions,” Peckman said. Spreading the TOMS message, it seems, has been a rewarding process in itself. “The excitement and support I felt from the Barefoot Rocky Run was truly amazing,” Peckman said, “A couple weeks ago, some of the club members and I met up with TOMS employees on an East Coast Vagabond Tour. We met really cool people, got some exclusive TOMS, and some of us even applied to intern, to go on a giving trip, or to meet founder Blake Mycoskie.”
In addition to her work with TOMS, Peckman writes for the chic and witty TrendyProblems.com. After following the popular Twitter account, @TrendyProblems last year, Peckman applied to be a “Trend Hunter.” She now sends trend reports specific to University City, Philadelphia, and Drexel to the site, which she said has taught her a lot about writing for a specific audience.
With her involvement with both TOMS and Trendy Problems, Peckman has been able to peek behind the scenes at two of her favorite organizations. “I now understand how both organizations have been able to grasp such large followings, and I have been able to gain my own following with my projects for them,” Peckman said.
Her hard work is clearly paying off, as her extra-curriculars have given her plenty to talk about in co-op interviews. “During my previous round of co-op interviews, I was amazed that almost every interviewer asked me to speak to my experience at TOMS and @TrendyProblems. I truly believe that having these two unique experiences to talk passionately about…has given me so many indirect opportunities, that in turn, helped me to land the co-op that I strived to obtain,” Peckman said.
Peckman is currently rocking a co-op at Destination Maternity in the Store Operations Department. Drexel can be sure it will see plenty of success from this rising sophomore!
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