Keep up with Ellie on LinkedIn!

What did you think you were going to be in elementary school or high school?

A children's book author (still a long-term dream of mine)! 

In first grade, I wrote my book about a dog and a bunny who were best friends and went on adventures together, inspired by my real-life pet bunny, Daisy. I tried doing the illustrations myself but begged my mom for her creative talents as drawing was never my proudest skill. When the book was all said and done (written on printer paper), I finished it off with three staples....on the right side, so the book read backward! Guess I wanted to keep things interesting LOL.

Did you study PR? If so, why? If not, what did you study?

Yes, it was my major. I thought I wanted to pursue journalism when applying to colleges since I was part of the newspaper club in high school. But the university I attended didn't have a strong program. So, I  pursued the school of communications instead! I didn't know the difference between public relations, advertising, and marketing, so my adviser suggested I take the introduction classes for all three. 

I started with public relations and never looked back. My professor, Dr. Rayburn, was a huge influence on why I decided to apply to the PR program at FSU. He taught in stories (my favorite way of learning), tying a personal experience to each lesson. He was sort of a pioneer of the industry in the 80s/90s and showed us why the industry is the way it is today. He inspired me to not only continue learning people's stories but to help tell them!

How did you make your way to Carve?

I owe it to the power of LinkedIn and the right timing actually! I had just opened the app to search for new job opportunities when I saw the job opening for Carve had just been posted 20 minutes prior. I stalked Carve's website, socials, blog, team bios, etc., and immediately felt the vibes were for me. Lucky me – the team felt the same way about me and hired me 3 interviews later!

What do you do today at Carve?

I work on the PR team for both enterprise and consumer clients, helping with but not limited to reporting, media scanning, media outreach, writing media briefs, and day-to-day account management. 

What is the coolest project you've ever worked on - anywhere?

I used to work for a travel PR agency and we had the most gorgeous resorts as clients. One client was located in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico which is basically the surf capital of Mexico. We collaborated with a popular surfing influencer to host a wellness/surf camp at the resort! I got to help plan the itinerary of activities for the camp which I loved because it involved lots of ideas around mindfulness/wellness.

What is the career accomplishment you're most proud of?

Finding my "work voice" and improving my presentation/speaking skills! It seems silly and definitely something I'm still working on, but a year ago if I knew I had a speaking role, my anxiety was through the roof! I'm talking heart beating out of my chest, face turning red, hands shaking...the whole nine yards. I'm much more calm and collected now, and I'm very proud of my overall growth.

What is your superpower?

Others would probably say my positivity, but I would say my "light."

What would you love to learn more about?

Nutrition and how it impacts our mental health. I also hope to someday deepen my yoga practice through 200-hour yoga teacher training.

If you were asked to teach someone how to do something in 5 minutes, what would it be?

Box Breathing Method - it takes less than 5 minutes and can help anyone in a time of need.