We’re excited to introduce this week’s Event 360 Teammate Spotlight. Enjoy this week’s glimpse into the personal and professional life of Alyssa Curran!
Position: Social Media Strategy Manager
Start Year: 2014
What job did you hold right before you came to work at Event 360? I owned my own social media and copywriting business. I had a great time live tweeting popular television shows and helping write cookbooks, but ultimately I wanted a full-time role that would let me focus on one brand or one project. Now, I love using social media to help those affected by breast cancer.
Was there anything in particular that brought you to Event 360? I really loved how forward thinking Event 360 sounded in the job description. As a mostly virtual company, I value a company that can acknowledge upcoming trends and use technology for the better. I haven’t been disappointed! I also loved that the role I was applying for would directly benefit the nonprofit sector. While I’ve been fortunate to work for all kinds of industries, it’s so rewarding to do work for the greater good.
If you weren’t working at Event 360 what would you be doing? I’d like to think I’d have another role I love doing writing and social media.
Favorite part of your job? There is no greater gift than being able to tell someone’s story in a way that makes them proud. I felt so honored on event last year to hear the tremendous challenges many of our participants have overcome, and to get to be one of the people who puts that down on pixels to share with the world. I also adore writing our content calendar each month, finding unique ways to keep the Susan G. Komen 3-Day® top of mind.
What do you like to do in your free time? I love to cook, work in my vegetable garden, and shop.
Most memorable event experience? The very first event I ever worked was in Michigan, several weeks after losing my mother-in-law to cancer. I was already nervous about learning the ropes of my first event, but I was also overcome with emotion being around so many people who had been through the same thing my family just went through. On the first day of the event, I met a woman named Shirley who reminded me so much of my mother-in-law, also named Shirley. The next day I was out on the route when I saw an abandoned badge on the road. I picked it up, turned it over, and it said “In the arms of an Angel – Shirley.” What are the odds of finding that one badge with that one special name belonging to that one special person who you just met, especially at an event with thousands of people? I felt at that moment that my mother-in-law was sending me a little nudge that she’s still around us and in our hearts. An honorable mention goes to how often really special things show up from Mother Nature on the 3-Day: like the perfect V-formation of geese over Opening Ceremony in Philadelphia, the incredible rainbow stretching over the first few miles of the Susan G. Komen San Diego 3-Day, and the absolutely stunning pink sunset in Michigan.
You’re showing off your hometown to a friend who has never been to visit before. What’s on your must see/do/eat list? We would start our day with an exhilarating hike at Charmlee State Park, which winds up the mountains around the ocean in Malibu. Then, we’d reward our hard work with delicious beef rolls and soup dumplings at the Noodle House in Alhambra, and then finish up the evening with a movie at the Arclight. If it was a Sunday, we’d also hit up the Hollywood Farmer’s Market! Oh, and in between all that we’d take a nap, because naps are joyous.
On event, what three things are we guaranteed to find in your bag? An external battery charger, way too many tubes of chapstick, and a few smuggled grahamwiches.
One word to describe Event 360? Driven.
