When she is not practicing yoga at Railroad Square Park or singing her heart out in Karaoke at Bird’s Oyster Shack, Katelynn Thigpenn invests her time at her job with FSU’s Seminole Dining. As a marketing intern, Thigpenn’s responsibilities change daily.
“There’s a wide variety of things to be done,” Thigpenn remarked, “Sometimes I am distributing materials and tabling around campus, and other days I get to create events and make videos.”
Thigpenn admits that the aspect of not knowing what will be done every day contributes greatly to her love for the field of marketing. As an Editing, Writing and Media major with a minor in film studies, Thigpenn’s work inside the classroom affects the way she views her work outside of the classroom. She considers the art of advertising an important mode of communication between retailers and consumers.
“I think of advertising as a way in which businesses distribute rhetoric to current or potential customers and marketing as a way in which businesses try to understand what it is those customers want to experience,” Thigpenn said.
Courtesy: Seminole Dining
She believes that marketing serves as the middle man aimed toward satisfying the consumer. Through Seminole Dining, Thigpenn works for the international company of Sodexo. There, she is given artistic freedom to represent the food experience students will have when they come to Florida State University. On Seminole Dining’s YouTube channel, Thigpenn’s favorite videos are the ‘Dining Hall Hacks,’ where students are given a new perspective on different types of dishes they can make for themselves. Thigpenn has the opportunity to work with nutrition interns for ideas or even base the meals on her taste.
“After I finish shooting the videos, I have the opportunity to combat food waste by eating the dish,” Thigpenn joked.
When she is finished with her job, Thigpenn can also be found running around campus and up the treacherous Diffenbaugh hill. She keeps herself motivated by choosing classes that both excite and educate her about possible future careers. One of her favorite classes she has taken is Film Theory. Taught at Florida State by Dr. Christina Parker-Flynn, Thigpenn gushes over her opportunity to take a theory-based class through the lens of Alfred Hitchcock and his films for analysis and discussion. As a full-time student and employed by two jobs, Thigpenn asserts that a full schedule has both its challenges and rewards. Thigpenn believes that finding a job at the place she attends school has given her the chance to develop genuine friendships with co-workers and socialize with a multitude of people. However, she acknowledges that time management is important because school and work must also be a priority in her life.
“Overall, having the working college experience that I do has shaped me into an even more well-rounded individual and I appreciate the experiences it has brought me,” Thigpenn said.
If you want to check out videos that Katelynn has helped to create, be sure to head over to YouTube and subscribe to Seminole Dining. Click the link below to view Seminole Dining’s video for the 2019-2020 school year.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXdaNJtZmXA&t=25s
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