Hailey Vanier ’21 recently took a trip to Portland for the Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference. The conference fee was covered by Thomas, allowing up to five students to attend free of charge. She found out about the conference through her advisor and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to gain more experience and network with others in her field.

“I am looking at anything and everything to get experience,” she said when asked why she was interested in attending the conference. “It seemed like the perfect opportunity. It was a digital marketing workshop and I had never found anything like that.”

At the conference, the morning started off with networking where Hailey was able to meet a wide variety of digital marketing enthusiasts. “I met some awesome people. All super creative, super nice, super passionate about what they are doing and it was really nice to see that through attendees and the speakers,” Hailey said.

Networking was followed by workshops in areas such as Instagram and Facebook groups. Throughout the day, Hailey said her main goal was to absorb as much information as she could. “I went into it knowing I needed to be a sponge and that I needed to take in everything that I possibly could,” she said. “There was so much that they were talking about that I have yet to learn.”

Hailey said her favorite part about the conference was “being with people who are so passionate about some of the things I am.” One piece of advice Hailey offers to other students is, “don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Take chances and take the opportunities you are given.”

To learn more about the Thomas College Digital Marketing Management Major, check out https://wwwold.thomas.edu/academics/programs/undergraduate/marketing/digital-marketing-management-bs/.