Name: Felicity Otterbein
Graduation Year: 2018
Major: Broadcast Journalism
Hometown: Beverly, MA
Involvement on Campus: I am currently serving as the Public Relations Chair of Rampage Show Choir and I am the Arts and Culture Editor of The Suffolk Journal
Favorite Color: Depends on my mood, today it’s like a teal
Instagram: @fo_tography
We heard you recently got to go to the Forbes 30 Under 30 event, how was that experience?
This was SO cool. I got to go and represent The Journal staff, as well as the University as a member of the press and got to sit in on the first day of this summit, which featured big-business names like Sir Richard Branson(Virgin Companies), Jessica Alba (Honest) and Ashton Kutcher (Sound Ventures). Ashton was one of the judges for a pitch competition, while Jessica Alba and Richard Branson were interviewed by Forbes’ staff about their success stories along with the trials and tribulations got them to where they are today. It was a great experience and I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to go and report on it.
What does a typical day in the life of you look like?
My day begins and ends with food. When I wake up I’m thinking about lunch, sometimes even dinner plans, and that’s before I’ve even finished my breakfast. That’s as far as I usually get in any kind of routine besides waking up and pushing myself out the door. There is no such thing as a “typical” day for me. And I kind of like that, it’s an exciting factor in my life, I mean I barely get the same coffee order every day. I have a variety of friends that I like to chat with so more often than not I’ll see if one of them is around like to get coffee or lunch to catch up. Other than that, I usually have stories to edit for the newspaper, I sing show choir songs to myself all day long to practice before rehearsal, and I love checking my social media.
What are some of your favorite hobbies?
I love watching those cooking videos on Facebook. I have about 30 of them saved to my account so I can make them later. I love watching movies, the last two I watched were American Beauty and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which are two very different films but they were fantastic. I enjoy reading, going to the beach back home, and hanging out with my dog.
Tell us a bit about your famous dog @shadow.otter! He’s adorable!
I tell everyone that Shadow is my boyfriend. And he really is the ideal man. He is a 5-year-old blue merle border collie. He’s by my side whenever I want him there, we go on ice cream dates, we hold hands. He’s super great and loves life and everything in it.
What is your favorite thing to do in Boston?
Both of my parents work in the city so one of my favorite things to do is visit them. Usually we meet for lunch and we catch up as though we didn’t just talk for an hour on the phone the night before. When I want to get away from school stress (and I want a free meal) I’ll text one of them to see if they want to hang out for a little bit so that I can vent. It’s a great stress-relief tool for me.
What was it like growing up the oldest of 4 girls?
Like any eldest sibling will tell you, it has its ups and downs. They’re my friends for life and we all have the same kind of humor and we finally reached the age where we can hang out and not hate each other quite as much. Everything is always dramatic and I have some funny stories from growing up in a six-person household, but at the end of the day I love my sisters and would do pretty much anything for them. It took us a while to get here but it’s been worth it.
If you were stuck on a desert island what 3 things would you bring with you?
1. My phone. Gotta call my mom, let her know I won’t be home for dinner. Because I’m on an island… 2. Red Doritos. They’re the best snack, no question. They also make great tinder for fires. 3. Probably my dog, for companionship and the fact that I could probably teach him how to hunt.
Celebrity crush?
I LOVE Calum Hood from 5 Seconds of Summer and Dylan O’Brien.
Who would play you in a movie about your life?
Hilary Swank.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to yourself before you entered college?
Don’t say yes to everything. A lot of things are going to look and sound appealing, but you need to remember that at the end of the day you can’t please everyone and the more you focus on a select few items, the better you’re going to feel about yourself and your path towards success.