Elena Vallejo: The Social Media and Marketing Guru

Over the years, the Theatre Department has put time and effort into creating social media pages and uploading pictures of students both on stage and off in an effort to promote the program.

However, it can be a daunting task so this year sophomore Elena Vallejo, an active member of the St. Ambrose University Theatre Department, gained a position as the first-ever Social Media and Marketing work-study student. Visit the SAU Theatre Facebook and Instagram accounts and see some of Vallejo's work.

Vallejo started pursuing her interest in photography during middle school with two friends and, at first, the three just did photo shoots in her backyard. However, as a sophomore in high school, she started to become more serious with her craft. During this time she started going to events to photograph them and towards the end of her sophomore year, she had succeeded in creating her own business.

When talking about her favorite types of photos to take, Vallejo stated that she enjoys portrait photography the most.

"I love candid moments and taking all sorts of photos," stated Vallejo. "[I really enjoy] seeing people as they truly are and getting to show the beauty and sparkle of everyone."

In fact, Vallejo's business, Picture Empowerment, started out as a nonprofit that specifically focused on portraits. Her mission was to allow people who couldn't afford professional photo shoots a chance to get their family photos taken. Currently she is changing her business into a source of income, while still continuing to support underserved communities.

On campus, Vallejo has been able to bring her passion for photography to college and the Theatre Department. Last year, Vallejo photographed the Studio Theatre shows Two Rooms and Admissions and she also captured behind the scenes shots for Enemy of the People and Romeo and Juliet. Many of her photos were also posted on social media and used for numerous Theatre Newsletter articles.

Along with Professor Dan Rairdin-Hale '04, Vallejo wanted to create the Social Media and Marketing position because she noticed that there was never a specific person just focused on creating content, which she felt was needed. Now that this goal has been accomplished, she is in charge of cultivating the St. Ambrose University Theatre accounts on Facebook and Instagram. Her plan is to help draw in students and showcase the St. Ambrose Theatre Department to the outside community.

Vallejo is certainly an inspirational student since she has strived to use her talents to help the Theatre Department. It will be fun to see what she does this year with her new position!