We are so thrilled to launch our brand-new interview series featuring young professionals and recent graduates who launched their careers right here in Philly!
Post-Grad 101 will tell the stories of folks in the Campus Philly community who landed jobs in their respective industries post-grad, sharing the advice, networking tips, and opportunities they took to reach their goals.
Up next: Danielle Freeman! Danielle is a young Philly-area professional, foodie, and Campus Philly alum (shoutout to Danielle for launching Campus Philly’s TikTok when she was an intern in 2021).
We had the chance to sit down with Danielle to learn more about her and the launch of her career post-grad! Check out our interview below.
Tell us about yourself, your Philly “story,” and your current role at Aramark.
Hi, I’m Danielle! I love travel, new experiences, and FOOD—I actually have a food blog on Instagram and TikTok, @fullonphilly, with a combined following of 30,000+.
A fun fact: one of my favorite views of the city of Brotherly Love is at 2nd and Race Street, of the Ben Franklin Bridge, right before you get on the 95 going northbound.
I was raised in Philly, and I am a Temple University alum (CO’ 2021). Nowadays, you can still find me at Temple University as a Marketing Coordinator for Aramark. We oversee the dining services that are covered by the meal plan, and one of my biggest jobs is managing the social media accounts, (@TempleDining). My life has come around full-circle!
How did your education, courses, and network at Temple prepare you for your career?
My education at Temple directly helped me prepare for my career in marketing by covering relevant topics that were as general as digital marketing and as specific as business etiquette when sending emails. My education at Temple also indirectly helped me feel prepared for my specific role because I already had an understanding of the target market, our locations, and offerings.
You were a social media and editorial intern for Campus Philly back in 2021! How did your experience at our internship, among your other jobs, support and impact your career trajectory?
I loved being able to intern for Campus Philly, and I still find myself talking about it to this day! While all my previous jobs and internships have allowed me to perfect my communication and customer service skills, Campus Philly allowed me to gain real experience in my career field.
Some platforms I liked using were WordPress for publishing blogs, Hootsuite for scheduling social media posts, Bitly for shortening and tracking links, and other insight tools for interpreting analytics—there are similar things that my current job, and others like it, require.
Most of all, I am eternally grateful that Campus Philly gave me the opportunity to take initiative on projects—one project I worked on was establishing Campus Philly’s platform on TikTok, and that led me to then finally creating a TikTok for my food blog, and then, now, mastering TikTok enough to create some viral videos for my job!
Your TikTok and Instagram following for @fullonphilly has grown so much in recent years. What was your “aha!” moment? When did you know you wanted to work in this field?
Thank you! I’m still shocked by how much it has grown, and I credit a lot of it to TikTok, even though I started on Instagram.
My biggest “aha” moment was easily when I was able to do a paid partnership with The Fresh Grocer—it was like I felt seen, and it always feel good to be compensated for your work, too.
Another moment that made me feel grateful to be able to work and “side hustle” in social media was when I was awarded Social Media Rising Star of the Year 2022 by Social Media Day PHL, Slice Communications, and the Philadelphia Business Journal at this year’s Social Media Day PHL!
Just amazing. We are so happy for you! So, as a recent grad yourself, what advice would you give a rising senior who is looking to launch their career in Philly?
I think everyone says this, but networking and using LinkedIn to your advantage is KEY! You’ll be surprised how far social media can get you in Philly. Lastly, please don’t put all of your eggs in one basket—explore all of your interests, and try not to settle or hyper-focus on one thing.
Is Aramark hiring? We’d love to plug your open roles!
For Collegiate Hospitality, my line of business with Aramark, we’re always looking for student workers in different areas. Please go to https://careers.aramark.com/ and use your university as a keyword. For example, if you’re a Drexel student, use “Drexel University” as a keyword on the loading page of that link, and follow the next steps.
Where can we find out more about you?
You can find me on Instagram and TikTok at @fullonphilly! Thank you so much!
