Almuni Spotlight: Amanda Jewell Saunders

Amanda Jewell Saunders, a 2021 Moody Advertising alumni, has allowed her career to reach new heights from her experiences at UT. Saunders has a combined interest in content creation, photography, and podcasting. Now based in New York City, she currently serves as a Paid Media Investment Manager at Starcom for Samsung. At Starcom, Saunders works with teams to launch new social media campaigns across different platforms, while analyzing past and current performance trends. 

During the beginning of her college career, Saunders had come to UT with intentions of being in the Texas Creative program, only to be rejected. She received a piece of advice from her professor, Lisa Dobias.  

“You can be creative, without being a creative”, said Dobias.

Saunders shifted her perspective as she joined the 2020 cohort of Texas Media Analytics. Saunders followed a more unconventional route as she waited until her senior year to actively pursue internships. She focused much of her time on her passions as a freelance photographer, as well as a part-time student marketeer for Red Bull. 

Saunders eventually landed an offer at a boutique agency based in Dallas known as RBA. At RBA, she served as their Digital Media Intern, handling organic social content, paid media campaigns, and production that now aligns with her current position at Starcom. 

"I get to work with multi-million dollar budgets for Samsung, and purchase media on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Reddit," said Saunders. 

Saunders said she found herself in advertising as she wanted to find a merger between her desire to work in business and her passion to be creative.

"When I worked at a boutique agency, I was able to be more hands-on with the creative ideation and production," said Saunders. "Now, working at Starcom, I focus on paid media which scratches my itch to be a businesswoman." 

From her experience at UT, Saunders said her willingness to try everything and being multifaceted is one the greatest decisions she has made in an ever-changing industry. 

"No one is bound to stay at a job forever, so know that if an opportunity presents itself, you should take it," said Saunders.

 Through nurturing relationships and making yourself discoverable on LinkedIn, Saunders said students can set themselves up for success to take their passions to the next level the way she once did. 

"Everything you do during these crucial years will directly reflect your future and how far you will go, so take the extra time to invest in your craft," said Saunders.