Name: Sean Pacheco
Class Year: 2017
Title: Creative Director
Organization Name: VIO Collective Inc.
1. In one sentence, what does your job entail?
My job entails developing a voice for brands as well as producing results for small and large businesses through digital marketing methods, such as sales funnels, digital ad campaigns, innovative content creation, and more!
2. What planned and unplanned events connected you to your industry and your first employer after Holy Cross? How did you learn/decide it was a good fit for you?
When I was a first-year, I started to practice using my camera to make videos and take photos. My first collaboration was with the Admissions Office, where my friend was a social media intern. We created videos for the Admissions Office, Kimball Dining Hall, and more organizations on campus. It snowballed from there where as the more I did work, the more people started to recognize me and ask me to do work for them. So, my networking and just putting myself out there, trying to see how to use my talents across campus eventually connected me to a content creator job for a phone app startup right out of college.
3. What were you involved in when you were on campus?
I was very involved in the Campus Activities Board. CAB introduced me to marketing in a very fun and experimental way, and taught me how to start analyzing how audiences react to certain initiatives. I eventually started a digital marketing/content creation sub-section of CAB in which I was able to practice my craft and eventually put that on my resume as a pre-professional experience that aligns with my industry.
4. What was your major and how did it affect your career decisions?
My major was Psychology with a Film minor, and the one thing about psychology that still helps me to this day is analyzing data, statistics, and understanding research methods. In the digital marketing world, you need to understand data and how to read it and also how to visualize it appropriately. Psychology has also helped me understand the psychology of the online user and has helped me deepen my understanding when working in digital marketing.
5. What are one or two skills that you developed at Holy Cross that you use in your work?
A skill that I have developed at Holy Cross is presentation of information. Many times in the corporate world, you will be asked to present info and data, and Holy Cross prepared me in summarizing info, getting to the point, and figuring out what is the appropriate way of showing that info.
6. What advice do you have for students on campus today?
The advice I have is do things! Collaborate! You have a talent of some kind, whether if it’s artistic or not. Identify that and just try practicing it with clubs on campus, organizations, offices, and more. This is great for building your resume as well as developing your skills.
