Campus Community Profile: Rhianna Davis, Social Media Specialist
Rhianna Davis, Chatham University’s Social Media Specialist
Chasing down goats on a snowy farm wasn’t what Rhianna Davis expected from her job when she began working in higher education, but the experience of filming the animals, students, and faculty at the Eden Hall Campus was just another reminder for Chatham University’s Social Media Specialist that no two days of work are ever alike.
Since she joined Chatham’s Office of Marketing and Communications just over a year ago, Rhianna has hustled to keep up with all the events happening around the University. One day she was sharing videos of smiling students at commencement, another she was showing off the food at the newly renovated Anderson Dining Hall, and yet another found her walking among the livestock at Eden Hall.
“I think it’s easy to fall into the thought that, because Chatham is a small school, there’s nothing going on here,” she said. “There’s a ton going on here all the time, still more than we can even be in the know with or keep up with at times.”
Rhianna, who grew up east of Pittsburgh in Lower Burrell, was no stranger to life on a small campus when she came to Chatham in November 2021. She graduated in 2020 from Point Park University with a degree in business management, and it was at Point Park’s Alumni and Engagement Office that she first gained experience in marketing for higher education. Upon graduating, she worked for the agency Blender, Inc., where she did social media for nonprofits, including United Way and the South Hills Interfaith Movement. She discovered how marketing allowed her to express her creativity in a business space.
Working as a social media specialist, she often hears from people who mistakenly think she “just tweets all day.” While social media used to be just an afterthought tacked on to other marketing responsibilities, she said people are starting to see that doing her job well requires an expertise in reaching people in an authentic and engaging way.
“I think, because it is still evolving, people are learning to understand it as its own entity that needs attention and craft,” she said.
“There’s a ton going on here all the time, still more than we can even be in the know with or keep up with.”
The goats of Eden Hall Campus
Overseeing social media for Chatham requires balancing the values of the institution with a fun presentation. That’s recently included introducing a team of “digital media ambassadors,” student spokespeople who create content for Chatham's social channels, primarily Instagram, to showcase student life from playing soccer at Chatham's Graham Field to studying in an Interior Architecture classroom.
Those posts opened new windows into the authentic student experience that Rhianna wouldn’t have been able to do by herself.
“People really responded to that,” she said. “They like seeing what their life is going to look like as a student.”
The job also allows her to help people who aren't sure where to find what they’re looking for on campus. That includes pointing prospective students to the Office of Admissions to get help with their applications, or sending questions about undergraduate housing to Residence Life.
She said the University’s social media accounts can act as a resource for people who aren’t sure where to find a solution, and she enjoys taking on the campus community’s inquiries and helping folks find what they’re looking for.
“I think it’s important that people can feel like they can come to you to get those questions answered,” Rhianna said.
Whether she’s meeting prospective students touring the campus with the Office of Admissions, following goats at Eden Hall, or attending events at the Shadyside Campus, Rhianna said she never knows what’s going to happen when she comes to work, and that’s one of the best things about her job.
“Getting to be involved in all of these experiences, I think that speaks to why I found such a love for higher ed,” she said. “Just being involved in this formative time in these students’ lives, and being able to constantly look for different ways to broadcast that, it’s just been really fun and interesting.”
See Rhianna’s work by following Chatham University on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @ChathamU
Mick Stinelli is a Writer and Digital Content Specialist at Chatham University. His writing has previously appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and 90.5 WESA, and he has a B.A. in Broadcast Production and Media Management from Point Park University. Mick, a native of western Pennsylvania, spends his free time watching movies and playing music.