Resume

EDUCATION

University of Denver                                  Denver, Colorado                                                           2010

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology    GPA- 3.5

Bachelor of Arts in Journalism Studies

Minor in Italian Language

Provost Scholarship

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore – Semester Abroad: Milan Italy                                                  2008

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Blog Editor and Production Manager           Pomegranate Place                                                   2011-present

• Coordinate, assign and edit bloggers’ submissions. 
• Create a platform through which women’s issues are publicized and discussed. 
• Compose articles for publication in order to broaden participation in not-for-profit events.  

Social Media/ PR Intern                               Examiner.com                                                               2011-present

• Increase and monitor website traffic through the use of social media.
• Implement new strategies to promote content.
• Create and edit blog posts and press releases.
• Manage Bitly Facebook, Flickr, Foursquare, Foodspotting, Storify, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, Twitter and Wordpress, accounts. 

Sales Rep / Marketing Consultant  Aspen Leaf Gourmet  (Littleton, CO)                                                 2005 - present

• Assist with production, packaging, sales, and distribution of gourmet sauces.
• Promoted the company through social networking and professional websites.

Marketing Associate/ Editor                        ProCntr  (Denver, CO)                                                      2010-2011

• Interacted with small business owners to promote their businesses through social networking sites (such as: linked in, MySpace, twitter, and Facebook) and personal websites.
• Edited professional emails and websites before publishing.
• Developed and edited web-based marketing strategies.
• Conducted marketing research and fact checking.  
• Integrated data into the Customer Relationship Management Software Batchbook.

Vice President                              Society of Professional Journalists- DU chapter                            2009-2010

•   Planned fundraising and social activities.  
•    Recruited new members through websites, fliers and events.  

Italian Teacher          Italian Teacher Alliance in Language at the University Of Denver                  2008-2010

• Taught Italian language to 2^nd-4^th grade students at Ebert Elementary. 
• Created and tailored various curricula to teach each age group.

 

 

 

 

Accomplishments

•  While working with Aspen Leaf Gourmet I was given the opportunity to aid in the expansion of the business. I presented the gourmet sauces at tastings for Whole Foods and Tony's Markets in locations throughout Denver and Castle Rock. Because of these presentations, the company was chosen as a permanent vendor by both corporate offices.  
• As the Vice President of the University Denver Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, I was in charge of recruiting members and fundraising.  My efforts helped get our brand new chapter up and running for years to come.
• I learned how to scuba dive in the South Pacific.

My Personality

Q&A

Tell me a little about yourself.
I value friends and family above all else. I enjoy traveling and am always looking for new opportunities and experiences.

What is your greatest strength?
I believe my greatest strength is integrity. I strive to be my own moral compass, and to do what is right, even when no one is watching.

Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.
As a working student, I have learned to balance deadlines and responsibilities. I have found that I do some of my best work while under pressure.

References

• Robyn Robino-Krupp                 Aspen Leaf Gourmet                            720-810-7881 
• Chris Kissner                              ProCnr                                                   303-335-9995
• Krisiti Savanagno                       Nanny Employer                                   303-773-1237

Writing Samples

Are Thin Models to Blame For Teenage Eating Disorders?

 

“They were alarmingly thin. Models appeared so gaunt and thin that their knees and elbows were larger than their concave thighs and pipe cleaner arms, and their bobbling heads looked as if a slight breeze could detach them from their frail bodies.” – Eric Wilson, New York Times regarding a fashion show in New York,

 

Recently in Madrid, Spain, preceding the most influential week in the fashion industry, Fashion week, Madrid’s regional government imposed a ban on models with a BMI (Body Mass Index) of less than 18. Approximately 30% of models, who had participated in the previous years event, were turned away. “Organizers say they want to project an image of beauty and health, rather than a waif-like, or heroin chic look” (Rueters). Carmen Gonzalez of Spain's Association in Defense of Attention for Anorexia and Bulimia claims that they have been campaigning for restrictions for years and are thankful to finally witness action.

Many influential people in the fashion world oppose this movement, “‘I think its outrageous, I understand they want to set this tone of healthy beautiful women, but what about discrimination against the model and what about the freedom of the designer,’ said Gould, Elite's North America Fashion director, adding that the move could harm careers of what she calls ‘naturally gazelle-like’ models” (Reuters). Research proves, nonetheless, that it is highly uncommon and even unlikely for a person to be born able to healthily maintain a BMI below the required limit. Secondly naturally slender models often fall within these requirements, while those who use alternative methods to achieve weight loss frequently fall below the limit and are thus rejected. This occurs because “victims [of eating disorders] often do not see how emaciated they’ve become” (Wright) due to the psychological basis of their disease.

As woman in modern society, it is hard to avoid the ever-present pressure to be thin. Studies suggest that society focuses more on physical appearance for female

professionals than their male counter parts, also that good looks are considered more important than all other female attributes (Wright). It has been said that physical appearance plays a significant role in the occupational success as well as salary and benefits granted towards female employees. There is therefore no mystery why 15% of young women have significantly disordered eating attitudes and behavior. And more than 85% of American women and teens are dissatisfied with their bodies. (Harm) There is a distinguishable link between the growing number of fatally thin looking models on the runway and the increasing number of young women with eating disorders.

Research shows that more than 90 percent of those who have eating disorders are women between the ages of 12 and 25. In early adolescents, while young women experience physical and emotional changes due to puberty they are susceptible to very low self-esteem. Feelings of insecurity are often gateways to physiological and metal disorders such as depression or eating disorders. One in ten American teens will develop an eating disorder at some point in their life. (Harms) Although Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa are both accepted as mental disorders, they can also lead to the development of serious physical disorders.

Before the new criterion was enforced in Madrid, two Brazilian and one Uruguayan model died last year due to self-starvation. One Brazilian model, Anna Carolina, weighed just 88 pounds and stood 5 feet 8 inches tall, that means she had a BMI of 13.4 putting her 34 pounds under the recommended body mass for her height (Wright). According to Dr. Alyce Harm, a certified Biofeedback therapist, “Due to the incidence of co-occurring medical conditions, it is almost impossible to specify the morbidity rates for eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. However, general estimates suggest that as many as 10-15% of eating disorders are fatal for those affected” (Harm). Self-deprivation can also lead to heart, kidney, and liver failure, gastrointestinal problems, muscle and hair loss, as well as infertility, Osteoporosis and numerous other medical conditions. Not to mention the assumed drug addictions many models, including Kate Moss, acquire in order to maintain a frail, or, as fashion insiders refer to as, “Heroine Chic” physique and sustain enough energy to perform as a model.

According to Fashion insiders in Glamour Magazine, the development of the super-skinny runway models is a

relatively new phenomenon. “Twenty Years ago, Models where 5’9” or taller and a size 6 or 8. Now they are that height but more like a size 2.” (Wright). In earlier years curvaceous models such as Janice Dickinson ruled the runway. The audience idolized their sexy figures and thus supermodels like Dickinson and Cindy Crawford often gained movie star-like followings. Towards the late 1990s, however, designers began to employ thinner models to shift the focus away from the model and more towards the actuall garment, thus rail-thin models such as Kate Moss became the norm. Fashion Designer Michon Schur describes her models as “pretty girls, but no one really stands out. For runway it's about highlighting the clothes.” (Helmich). These models allowed the clothing to drape over their bodies almost like a hanger. Unfortunately, instead of the public shifting its focus away from the model’s appearence, women began to accept this newly portrayed super thin shape, as ideal.

Society is easily influenced by images of the media. An example of this can be seen in a study in Fiji by Dr. Carolyn Sloan Burton, a Frisco psychiatrist. “Before 1995, Fiji residents didn't experience eating disorders, preferring plump bodies. After 1995, when television flooded households, the rate of eating disorders skyrocketed. The statistics indicates that media push cultural images, and people accept them, hoping if they attain ideals such as thinness, they'll be happy”(Nicoletti). Because people accept what is portrayed in magazines and television as a model of perfection, they, in turn, attempt to emulate what they see. When the media’s predominant portrayal of a woman’s body is one with jutting collarbones and hipbones, knobby knees, and visible ribcages, many young women will inevitably try to obtain this body type. The only feasible strategy in doing so is to abstain from nourishment almost entirely.

Although the steps taken in Madrid demonstrate progress, more must be done in order to eliminate the encouragement of models to develop and maintain eating disorders. Doctors suggest that in order to maintain a healthy life style, one should keep a BMI between 18.5-25. Models should be no exception and should therefore be required to maintain a healthy/average BMI rather than a below average rating of 18, as in Madrid’s specifications. This translates into a stricter and more widespread enforcement BMI guidelines similar, yet stricter than those created in Spain. Other countries need to accept and enforce these rules in order to induce a substantial change; without their support Madrid’s guidelines can easily be ignored and extremely thin models, rather than attempting to gain weight, will be able to find work elsewhere. Prohibiting unnaturally thin models from ruling the runway will, in theory, cause the fashion industry to revert back their previous model criterion in which models filled out each garment rather than allowing it to drape over them.

Even in earlier years, models possessed figures that were not necessarily attainable for the average woman, in other words not all women are built like Cindy Crawford. Crawford however follows, and in turn, represents a healthier lifestyle that involves exercise, a balanced diet, and abstinence from drug use; which are all positive practices, worthy of being emulated. The fashion industry is certainly not the only thing causing eating disorders among young women, but creating a new depiction of the ideal body type that is less extreme and unhealthy will dramatically improve women’s body images and hopefully reduce the amount of teenage eating disorders. As soon as the media accepts women’s bodies in their natural state, the rest of society will do the same.