For senior marketing major and Indiana native Grace Bowersox, social media isn’t just a hobby: it’s a career.
Bowersox started creating public content in high school after some encouragement from her friends.
“At first, all my social media accounts were private,” Bowersox said. “One day, I posted a video, and my friends told me to make my account public because they were sure it would go viral. I took their advice — and it did. That’s what really started it for me.”
Since that first viral video, Bowersox has earned more than 100 million impressions across TikTok and Instagram and built a community of over 42,000 followers. This growing platform has opened the door for collaborations with major brands, including AT&T, BuzzFeed, the Empire State Building, Notion, and LaCroix.
Her success, however, didn’t happen overnight, and it required more than luck to achieve.
“It’s so interesting because social media is so unpredictable, yet there’s a strategy behind it,” Bowersox said.
Drawing on the knowledge she’s gained from her classes and experiential learning opportunities in the Chambers College, Bowersox has applied her marketing and data analytics skills to grow her personal brand and professional partnerships alike.
“I’ve learned a lot of real-life skills that have helped me grow,” Bowersox said. “One class that really helped me was a data analytics class taught by Teaching Assistant Professor Nathan Garrett. He had a huge impact on what I’m doing and what I’m studying.”
Outside of her course work, Bowersox was involved in the 304 Marketing Agency. That experience gave her the opportunity to work on real projects for real businesses, which strengthened both her social media expertise and her professional skills.
Those lessons proved valuable during her summer internship at Alarm.com, where she continued to level up her marketing experience in a corporate setting.
“I played a big role in bringing in new knowledge and got to share a new perspective with the company,” Bowersox said. “With stuff like I learned through my classes and 304 Marketing, I was able to show them exactly why my social strategy would work and back it up with data-driven proof.”
In her time at the Chambers College, Bowersox was able to achieve success in her personal and professional life while completing her degree a year and a half early.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my academic advisor, Susan Catanzarite,” Bowersox said. “She knew my whole plan and met with me over the summers just to talk about graduating early, and she helped me plan my future.”
Bowersox also credits the Center for Career Development for helping her perfect her resume and preparing her for interviews and job opportunities. Now, as she moves onto her next chapter, she wants future students to be confident in their abilities and in themselves.
“If I could tell future students anything, I would tell them to bet on yourself,” Bowersox said. “Do everything and be yourself, unapologetically, with full confidence. Do things for future you.”
-WVU-
Emma Higgins 12/15/25
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andrew Marvin
Senior Communications Specialist
John Chambers College of Business and Economics
andrew.marvin@mail.wvu.edu