WASHINGTON, PA (June 9, 2022)—Rising senior Grace DePaul has found the perfect platform for success.
A communications arts and business administration double major at W&J, DePaul landed a social media internship with Ansys, a Canonsburg-based engineering software company founded by Trustee John A. Swanson, and, after months of preparation, is spending the summer developing a multi-platform social media strategy for the company.
“It’s been a lot of training—getting used to our social media management platform, scheduling posts, sharing copy, and creating content,” DePaul said of her role, which she began in the spring. “But my goal throughout the summer is to really use that training and put what I’ve learned to work.”
Aiming to increase Ansys’s audience and reach, she plans to enhance the company’s existing presence on Instagram, a platform primarily used by 24-34 year-olds, while maintaining an active presence on other targeted sites.
“Since they are an engineering simulation company, they target an older demographic,” DePaul said of Ansys, “but I want to bring in more of that younger demographic because there is potential there.”
As the social media manager for her sorority, Delta Gamma, and W&J’s newspaper, “The Red & Black,” as well as the vice president of W&J’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and the marketing and promotions intern for its Center for Professional Pathways, digital knowledge of the post-Millennial market is something DePaul knows well.
Though it’s something she acquired at W&J, DePaul said it isn’t the only College benefit she’s brought to her role.
“As tacky as it sounds, I think that our liberal arts education connects you with people that you never thought you would connect with,” she said. “It gives you a connection with a wide range of people. And I think that in and of itself has really helped me.”
Now, her internship is working in conjunction with those connections to move her forward.
“I think it’s taught me a lot about how to work in a virtual world, which is what we’re shifting to now,” DePaul said, noting that Ansys Amplify, the company’s social media advocacy platform has skyrocketed in the last several months, with clicks increasing 123%. “But it’s also taught me to consider if social media is something that I really want to do, or if I want to pave a new path in [public relations], or go back to my dream of being in merchandising.”
Whatever DePaul chooses, she’s determined to find joy in her profession.
“I want to be at a company where I enjoy who I work with, I enjoy what I do, and I feel like I get something out of what I do,” she said. “I don’t know what that is yet, but I want to try my best to get the most experience I can so that I can figure it out.”
About Washington & Jefferson College
Washington & Jefferson College, proudly located in Washington, Pa., is a historic liberal arts college founded in 1781 that values ethical leadership, professional readiness, and inclusive communities. Our highly customized and intellectually engaging student experience develops professionals of uncommon integrity to lead in an ever-changing world. For more information about W&J, visit washjeff.dev or call 888-W-AND-J.
