Noelle Pappas
Staff Writer
Hannah Garcia couldn’t stay away from FSC after she graduated in May 2023. Recommended with high praise for the Digital Content Specialist spot by previous position holder, Sophie Talbert, Garcia joined the marketing department in September 2023.
However, Garcia didn’t always want to be a marketer. She began her undergraduate degree at FSC in August 2019 as an environmental studies major and quickly realized it wasn’t for her. After switching to business administration in her first year, she secured an internship at Red Tent Initiative in Lakeland for three months. Here, she ran the company’s social media channels under free-flowing guidelines.
Discovering that she thoroughly enjoyed the creative side of business, Garcia decided to add a minor in communications after her first internship. She grew her love for social media management and creativity, when she interned for Catapult Lakeland. Starting the position in May of 2022, she managed their social media accounts and was in charge of photography.
“[Catapult is] where I grew my love for social media and photography,” Garcia said. “From here, I knew I really wanted to stay in Lakeland.”
Garcia appreciates that she gets to call Lakeland home, having hoped she’d live here post-graduation. Luckily, she set herself up for success by holding leadership positions during her four years at FSC.
These titles included being a School of Business Senator, SGA Vice President of Communications, Southern Select Leader and Executive Team Member, a two-year member of the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and a member of Kappa Delta.
“Being a student before starting my job helped in communicating different concepts on social media because I actually attended Florida Southern recently,” Garcia said. “It’s different seeing it from an administrative side.
As a creative individual, she says she has ideas for the marketing department since being a student at FSC. Being able to put the ideas into effect because she holds the role is a big transition compared to living on campus.
The 8-to-5 isn’t dreadful, though. She enjoys the process since the job is flexible and she’s not tied down to her desk. She says she gets to be creative and try new ideas daily. One of Garcia’s main tasks is developing content for ZeeMee, an engagement app for incoming college students. On top of that, she manages FSC’s 11 social media channels and lays out a schedule for each week.
“There’s always something to do every day, but it’s always different. I enjoy it all since social media and content specialization take up most of my time,” Garcia said.
Alongside creativity, she loves working with her team and that FSC became the place where she began her professional endeavors.
Going from student to alumna is never an easy transition when you’re as involved as Garcia, but her love for the Mocs runs deep. She credits a lot of her success to the classes she took at FSC, like Business Seminar and Principles of Marketing, and her professors. She sees them often around campus, which helps her feel more comfortable in the post-graduation world.
