Audrey Gilmore
I’m the epitome of “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” In fact, as a child, I would confidently say my life’s purpose is to float gracefully across the ice as the next Michelle Kwan. With an unwavering conviction, I would reiterate my dreams until faced with one critical piece of reality: I don’t know how to ice skate. Needless to say, I had to accept that my future would likely not involve dancing across a frozen rink in a sparkly dress.
Fast forward 20-something years, my life goals have slightly changed. Earning a degree in Communications at Saint Marys College of California, I waited to be inspired through my studies, friends, and countless essays around subcultures and their meaning. After authoring 25 papers a term and functioning as the unofficial peer editor in the library, I discovered that I’m not too bad at this writing thing. Then, when a friend asked to purchase what I considered to be a doodle, I realized I’m not bad at this art thing either.
Queue the career. After graduation, I took my love of writing and art to define my future. I started in content development then fell into creative leadership, taking on the overall design and messaging for the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. From there, I initiated a school-wide rebranding, trained internal and external creatives, built our organic social and blog channels from the ground up, and implemented more processes than I can count.
For every project, I look for the “WOW” factor––taking complex information and making it digestible or taking simple concepts and giving them a unique flare. I have a people-first mentality, value work-life balance, and empower my team to push new limits and flex their own creative ingenuity.
Now I may still be figuring out what I want to be when I grow up, but I can confidently say I know creativity––and an extra-large cup of coffee––is coming with me.