UNIVERSITY PARK — It was steely determination and perseverance, along with some grown-up perspective, that helped a Penn State student complete an undergraduate experience that put her on a path to sell steel.
Bailey Allison, an advertising/public relations major, will serve as student marshal for fall commencement in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications on Dec. 21 at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Allison’s accomplishment was not something she ever expected. And where it has led — with a first job secured as a sales associate for a company that sells steel – was even more unexpected.
Allison, from Brockway, Pennsylvania, did not start her college career at Penn State. She said she felt disconnected where she was, though, and decided to come home. She enrolled at Penn State Dubois, initially as a marketing major.
“I just knew it was going to be a better fit,” she said.
Along with finding that fit, Allison brought an important focus, she said. She embraced opportunities, including an on-campus career fair — despite having to drive to campus on a snowy winter day in the second semester of her sophomore year.
After meeting a recruiter for Nucor there, Allison signed up for an interview about a position that was more focused on construction or engineering than advertising or marketing. Something about it just seemed interesting, she said, and the company was interested in her — all of which led to her first internship.
“That’s probably something I do a lot, just give it a try,” Allison said. “If it goes wrong, so what? You’ll figure it out. As I learned more about the company, I devoted more time to knowing and understanding all it did. I had a lot of fun.”
She balanced that experience, and a second internship with the company, with her involvement on campus.
She transferred to University Park, continued her Dean’s List success and got involved with both the Ad/PR Club and the Public Relations Student Society of America. She also earned the President Walker Award and an Evan Pugh Scholar Senior Award.
Allison changed her major to advertising/public relations and said she discovered out how much she liked science as well — at least when it mattered for her internship and eventual career path.
“I never saw myself in anything technical,” Allison said. “I never saw myself doing anything those lines that would interest me enough, but I was wrong. Go for it, I guess.”
Allison will start with Nucor as a sales associate in Salem, New Hampshire, not long after commencement.
“Some people might not see the connection between a communications degree and sales, but the basic concepts all seem the same to me, and the more I did on campus with classes and other activities, the more it felt like that path was right for me,” she said. “All those things prepared me for what’s next.”