Age: 26
Delaware Technical Community College (Dover)
Introduction: Natalie Hines serves as social media manager at Delaware Technical Community College where she develops strategic social media initiatives in support of institutional goals. She previously served as account executive at Tipton Communications. As a proud Blue Hen, she graduated from University of Delaware and is currently pursuing a master’s degree from Wilmington University.
Leadership examples: At Tipton Communications, I took on a role as internship coordinator. As a previous intern myself, I experienced the mentorship of a colleague who trained me to become a true leader. During my time as coordinator, I formalized the internship program by developing an official interview process, onboarding workshop, and proper mentoring sessions.
As a young professional transitioning from a small business to a large college atmosphere, I am leading a team of 15 marketing professionals and have shown them how social media could be incorporated into the current marketing plan. Working with seasoned communicators and marketers, I remained confident in my knowledge of social media but also brought a sense of enthusiasm and inspiration to those around me.
As the youngest elected board member to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Delaware Chapter, I found myself growing as a leader while working with several seasoned professionals.
Professional accomplishments:
- Launched Tipton Communications’ official internship program, training six undergraduate interns.
- Won honorable mention for statewide social media campaign in the Delaware Press Association Awards.
- Aided in development of a website, managed social media channels, and provided event management efforts for the 2017 welcome home event for Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden at the Chase Center.
- Nominated to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Delaware Chapter’s board and served as secretary for two years and collaboratively planned monthly public relations workshops for 50-plus Delaware members.
- Taught three social media courses at Delaware Technical Community College in Georgetown.
- Appointed by President Mark Brainard (Delaware Tech) to the College’s new student success committee – a committee dedicated to student success initiatives and outcomes.
- Chaired a presidential reception for elite donors, legislators, business professionals, and Board of Trustees members at one of Delaware Tech’s largest philanthropic galas.
- Received an Advanced Social Media Marketing for Business graduate certificate from University of Delaware in 2019.
Community service: When I was selected to serve as a keynote speaker for a conference at my alma mater, Padua Academy, I taught prospective seventh and eighth graders the value of working in the marketing industry. During my time at Tipton Communications, I managed our pro-bono clients including companies such as Junior Achievement of Delaware, Wilmington HOPE Commission, and Read Aloud Delaware.
After arriving at Delaware Tech, I quickly bonded with other millennial-age employees. After attending the Millennial Summit in Wilmington, we were inspired at the numerous presenters who devoted their lives to community service. Together, we launched Delaware Tech Connect, a millennial-age employee group that executes community service projects and has fun while doing it! Since its inception in 2018, we executed a holiday clothing drive for the Wilmington Ministry of Caring, cleaned and beautified Humble Park in downtown Wilmington, and placed pinwheels at our child development center to raise awareness for child abuse prevention.
Tell us a few things that aren’t on your LinkedIn profile: I am a huge country music fan. I traveled to Nashville two years ago for the city’s Country Music Festival and ended up being on the televised broadcast of one of the concerts – my five seconds of fame! I am also a huge Taylor Swift fan dating back to 2006. I have seen her six times in concert. Lastly, during an internship, I was able to go to the top and bottom of the Delaware Memorial Bridge.
