Heritage: Fall 2021

Amanda Rae Silverman
’10 BFA Journalism, ’10 BFA Photography
Vans Senior Manager of Global Digital Brand Communications, Long Beach, CA

Amanda Rae Silverman travels all over the world, sponsoring shows for bands like Metallica in London, or launching new products at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum. She meets with teams in Mexico, China, Switzerland and more, all in the name of brand management. Working in communications for a huge global brand like Vans, a skateboarding shoes and apparel company, involves being on top of the latest trends, or even setting them yourself.

Silverman double majored in print journalism and photography, which was quickly highlighted as a plus, as the shift to digital in the marketplace began right around the time of her graduation.

“As brands started building social media presences, I found myself kind of merging both degrees and making content, while also writing copy and coming up with marketing ideas for products online,” Silverman said. “The early years of social media management were really scrappy. You did everything yourself, including shooting creative a lot of the time. It was a lot like my early days at Sam, when we would develop photo shoots for class out of found objects, fabric scraps and whatever friends we could round up.”

Oftentimes a career path is unpredictable, and the adaptability and determination learned at SHSU came in handy for Silverman.

The core skill sets for both of my degrees helped me in these early years. As digital evolved and changed, my skill sets did too in real time. Amanda Rae Silverman

“The core skill sets for both of my degrees helped in these early years. As digital evolved and changed, my skill sets did too in real time,” Silverman said. “You have to always keep learning and be open to new ideas in this field; the only constant is change.”

Silverman believes students today should always be evolving and adaptable.

“You have to be quick on your feet and adaptable to change. While it’s great to set big goals, it’s important to be gentle with yourself when you make mistakes on your way to them,” Silverman said. “You can learn from every misstep, and it’s ok to change course on the way there as long as you are still moving forward. It sounds a little cliché, but you never know what will come from a project you take on, or person you meet. Approach every challenge like an opportunity and treat every relationship kindly, because there are so many jobs out there right now and I only see that continuing to grow over the next few years, which creates a myriad of opportunities in the space.”