Melissa Conlon, a Marist College 2016 graduate, is thriving post-grad! During her time at Marist she studied Communications with a concentration in Advertising and a second major in Fine Art.
Now, she is fully immersed in the creative world.
Melissa is currently employed at Grandesign Media. Her favorite part about her job is its unconventionality. She says:
“When I initially graduated I had my mind-set on being a copywriter and just putting words to idea, but I ended up landing a job in advertising production. I work for an experiential advertising agency, which basically means we bring brands to life in the real-world and to the everyday, and in ways you would have never thought. The unconventionality of my job is that that no day is the same and no project is the same. In my first 6 months on the job, I have worked on creating promotional brand street teams and product sampling programs, to assisting in the execution of a pop-up tourism shop in JFK airport, helped to coordinate details of a shoot with a major television company, as well as contributed and collaborated on strategy and ideas for a handful of new business proposals that are currently in the works. Long story short, I love that even the craziest ideas are welcomed in my company, and most of the time we make the impossible possible.”
I asked Melissa what’s the best career advice she’s received, and she states, “That the path to your dream job won’t always be a straight one, but to lean into each turn and opportunity that comes along the way—especially if it just feels right—because each turn will teach you something that is beneficial in the long run.”
Some of Melissa’s favorite things about post-grad life include feeling like a real person, but she means it in the sense that she has purpose and a place to be every day. She feels like there is a feeling that she gets when she steps off the train every morning. It is kind of along the lines of, “I made it. I am here. Let’s do this.” She also likes the open-endedness to post-grad life, no true beginning to a “school year” and “school end,” and that outside of work responsibilities, she can go new places on a whim and try new things constantly.
There are so many amazing memories that we all make throughout our four years at Marist. Melissa’s favorite memory was senior year after she had returned from her semester abroad in Florence. She explains how there was an overwhelming sense of coming home that overtook her. She remembers:
“That night, all my best friends and our extended group of friends and housemates were sitting at our kitchen counter in Lower Fulton catching up about summer and campus gossip, and just all the excitement of what was to come as seniors. I would give anything to just go back to all those chats and late-night snack sessions at the counter when we all should have been doing homework.”
As a creative, Melissa draws inspiration from many places. One person Melissa often is inspired by is her younger brother, Matthew:
“He has known what he has wanted to do since he was three years old – become a surgeon. I always knew I would be in a creative industry but it was never one set, “When I grow up I want to be a…” He has never waivered and is currently pre-med at UMass Amherst and works his butt off studying, memorizing, and pushing himself so that he can save lives someday. What he studies is the complete opposite of what I do so his skillset and critical thinking is so different that it always makes me want to learn more. However, most of all, his determination is why; he gets frustrated but those same challenges get him excited about what he is doing, so when I hear him rant and complain it just gives me this energy to keep going and doing what I’m passionate about even when you hit a roadblock or take a tough turn because you know it’s what you want and where you’re supposed to be.”