Interview with Akansha Christopher
Akansha is a marketing professional with her bachelor’s degree from Kean University. She primarily works in wellness and beauty marketing. Outside of work, she spends her time exploring the music scene, creating art through fashion and mixed media, or spending time with her furry friends.
Who are you?
Hello, I am Akansha Christopher! I think if you asked the people around me who I was, they would say I was an extroverted, fashionable, and hardworking individual. But if I were to answer that question, I would say I was a thoughtful and meticulous type of person. So, in any of my hobbies or projects, I tend to put my all into it. This way of life tends to let me have exciting and meaningful experiences at work and in my personal life!
What first made you decide to pursue this career in marketing?
Actually, at first, I was following in my dad’s footsteps and was studying to be a physical therapist. But after two years of that, I realized it was not fulfilling me the way it seemed to fulfill my classmates. So, I took some time to understand my skills and my interests! I was always really into the creative arts and also had a knack for understanding people. So, I took a few classes in Marketing, and the world seemed to make sense again! When I got into the professional world, completing Marketing projects was extremely thrilling and satisfying, especially if the product I was helping market could help someone’s day-to-day life.
Was there a specific moment when you realized this was the path you wanted to pursue?
It was probably when I took my first Marketing class! Everything seemed to be as easy as breathing for me. And my brain was very excited and busy with ideas of how to make things even more creative. At first, I was Marketing myself with Modeling and Pageantry. I remember the first website I had created took ages, but every step felt so thrilling. I have come a long way since, but each time I complete a new brochure, business card, website, video, partnership, or campaign, I get that same feeling of pride and excitement.
What does a typical day in your life look like?
Right now, I am working for two businesses owned by the same private employer, so I switch between two different industries. One is in the medical field, and the other is in beauty. I have the pleasure of working with a great social media assistant, website vendors, and partnerships with local businesses. So, I usually start my day off by collaborating with them. Then, I have 3-4 marketing materials I usually create in the day. Today, I worked on updating a brochure to match the redesign of the company’s website. Then, I made edits to a flyer for the company’s second location open house! Alongside other projects like social media videos, CRM, and digital email marketing. At the end of the day, I spent it working on getting together all the supplies, marketing materials, and decorations we needed for our local partnerships tabling event scheduled for the next day.
What first initiated your interest in your field or industry?
The reason I even got introduced to the field of Marketing was because my Aunt back in India had a successful advertising career, and I was very much inspired by her. She is very creative, bubbly, and witty. And she has always reminded me of myself. Also, it is hard to find other people from my culture in their later years who have gone this route, so to have someone so close to me create her livelihood off it told me that I could do the same!
What is your favorite thing about what you do?
My favorite thing is when I hear a client say that they saw the marketing material I helped create, whether it be through our new website, new flyers, social media videos, Meta ads, or even through our email marketing, and they decided to trust us with their business. It makes me really happy to know that I could change someone’s life for the better, whether it came to their vulnerable medical health or their personal aesthetic image.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in this field?
As a woman in the field, it is definitely hard to be taken seriously sometimes. It is just an extra obstacle in getting the job done. But I was very fortunate to have an amazing mentor and teacher in being taken seriously in the professional field through my mother. She came to this country with no support and now works as a Director of a whole unit in a hospital! She was my inspiration because even though she is the sweetest and bubbliest woman, she was always taken seriously and was respected in her industry because of the drive and standard she held herself to.
What advice would you give younger women entering this field?
I would say never give up and be inspired every day! There is inspiration in everything, from nature, to music, to even the water dripping down your faucet. Never lose that spark for imagination. Because in this age of A.I. and robotics, that is one thing they cannot replace. Take pride in what you do. And never let anyone make you feel less than. The workplace is hard to adjust to after being in college, so give yourself grace. Everyone makes mistakes, but you always come back better and smarter. Also, understand that Marketing is the art of connecting with others in a creative way, so take a behavioral science class and thank me later.
What mindset has helped you succeed the most?
To be completely honest, it’s to try something even if I am bad at it. Even if I am very bad at it! I have always been a perfectionist since I was young, so starting projects used to be very tough for me. But my mindset shifted later in life when I started trying things I was very unfamiliar with, like singing. My partner is an exceptional singer, and I always felt very shy singing with him. So, I started practicing in secret, and at first, I was very much laughing through the pain because I couldn’t even keep up! But then I started to really enjoy it. It was a great reminder that even the simplest things need practice without judgment. That mentality has really helped me in my career because you are never going to know everything off the bat.
What are your hobbies outside of working?
I love my hobbies outside of work! I am very much a work-life and personal-life-are-sacred kind of gal. So, both categories get lots of thought and dedication. I love to dance and will spend lots of time finding new music to groove to. Painting and drawing have always been my greatest love. It is the best way to declutter my brain and also strengthen my imagination. I also love to cook, bake, and read fantasy novels. But mostly, I really do love spending quality time with my partner, family, friends, and my furry friends!
What is the biggest lesson your career has taught you so far?
The biggest lesson my career has taught me is to expect the unexpected. If you asked me 10 years ago if this is what I saw myself doing, I would be flabbergasted but very happy. I never thought this was a possibility for myself because I was never introduced to it naturally. I had to find out for myself. And even though it was hard, it brings me great pride to know I created opportunities and worked hard to make a place for myself in this industry!
Edits from Community Manager and Blog Writer
By Rasheida Wimberly
Akansha is a marketing professional with a bachelor’s degree from Kean University. She primarily works in wellness and beauty marketing. Outside of work, she spends her time exploring the music scene, creating art through fashion and mixed media, or spending time with her furry friends.
Who are you?
Hello, I am Akansha Christopher. I think if you asked the people around me who I am, they would say I am an extroverted, fashionable, and hardworking individual. But if I were to answer that question, I would say I am a thoughtful and meticulous person. Whether it’s a hobby or a project, I tend to put my all into it. This way of life has led to exciting and meaningful experiences at work and in my personal life.
What first made you decide to pursue this career in marketing?
Actually, at first, I was following in my dad’s footsteps and studying to become a physical therapist. But after two years, I realized it wasn’t fulfilling me the way it seemed to fulfill my classmates. So, I took some time to understand my skills and interests. I was always really into the creative arts and also had a knack for understanding people. So, I took a few marketing classes, and the world seemed to make sense again. When I entered the professional world, working on marketing projects was extremely thrilling and satisfying, especially when the products I helped market could improve someone’s day-to-day life.
Was there a specific moment when you realized this was the path you wanted to pursue?
It was probably when I took my first marketing class. Everything seemed as easy as breathing for me, and my brain was busy with ideas about how to make things even more creative. At first, I marketed myself through modeling and pageantry. I remember the first website I created took ages, but every step felt so thrilling. I have come a long way since then, but each time I complete a new brochure, business card, website, video, partnership, or campaign, I get that same feeling of pride and excitement.
What does a typical day in your life look like?
Right now, I am working for two businesses owned by the same private employer, so I switch between two different industries. One is in the medical field, and the other is in beauty. I have the pleasure of working with a great social media assistant, website vendors, and local business partners, so I usually start my day by collaborating with them. I usually create three or four marketing materials throughout the day. Today, I worked on updating a brochure to match the redesign of the company’s website. Then, I made edits to a flyer for the open house at the company’s second location. Alongside that, I worked on other projects like social media videos, CRM, and email marketing. At the end of the day, I focused on gathering all the supplies, marketing materials, and decorations we needed for a local partnership tabling event scheduled for the next day.
What first sparked your interest in your field or industry?
The reason I was introduced to marketing in the first place was that my aunt in India had a successful career in advertising, and I was very inspired by her. She is very creative, bubbly, and witty, and she has always reminded me of myself. Also, it can be hard to find people from my culture who have pursued this career path, so having someone so close to me build her livelihood around it showed me that I could do the same.
What is your favorite thing about what you do?
My favorite thing is when I hear a client say they saw the marketing materials I helped create, whether through our new website, flyers, social media videos, Meta Ads, or email marketing, and decided to trust us with their business. It makes me really happy to know that I could change someone’s life for the better, whether by helping with their vulnerable medical health or their personal aesthetic image.
What challenges have you faced as a woman in this field?
As a woman in this field, it is definitely hard to be taken seriously sometimes. It’s just an extra obstacle when trying to get the job done. But I was very fortunate to have an amazing mentor in my mother, who taught me how to be taken seriously in the professional world. She came to this country with no support and now works as a director of an entire unit in a hospital. She has always inspired me because, even though she is the sweetest and bubbliest woman, she is respected in her industry because of the drive she brings to her work and the standards she holds herself to.
What advice would you give younger women entering this field?
I would say never give up and be inspired every day. There is inspiration in everything, from nature to music to even the water dripping from your faucet. Never lose that spark for imagination because, in this age of AI and robotics, that is one thing they cannot fully replace. Take pride in what you do, and never let anyone make you feel less than. The workplace can be hard to adjust to after college, so give yourself grace. Everyone makes mistakes, but you can always come back better and smarter. Also, understand that marketing is the art of connecting with others in a creative way, so take a behavioral science class and thank me later.
What mindset has helped you succeed the most?
To be completely honest, it’s trying something even if I am bad at it. Even if I am really bad at it. I have always been a perfectionist since I was young, so starting projects used to be very tough for me. But my mindset shifted later in life when I started trying things I was unfamiliar with, like singing. My partner is an exceptional singer, and I always felt shy about singing with him. So, I started practicing in secret, and at first, I was laughing through the pain because I couldn’t even keep up. But then I started to really enjoy it. It was a great reminder that even the simplest things take practice without judgment. That mentality has really helped me in my career because you are never going to know everything right from the start.
What are your hobbies outside of work?
I love my hobbies outside of work. I am very much a “work-life and personal-life are sacred” kind of gal, so both get lots of thought and dedication. I love to dance and spend lots of time finding new music to groove to. Painting and drawing have always been my greatest loves. They are the best ways to declutter my brain and strengthen my imagination. I also love to cook, bake, and read fantasy novels. But mostly, I really do love spending quality time with my partner, family, friends, and my furry friends.
What is the biggest lesson your career has taught you so far?
The biggest lesson my career has taught me is to expect the unexpected. If you had asked me 10 years ago if I saw myself doing this, I would have been flabbergasted but very happy. I never thought this was a possibility for myself because I was never naturally introduced to it. I had to find out for myself. Even though it was hard, it brings me great pride to know that I created opportunities for myself and worked hard to make a place for myself in this industry.
This interview and shoot were conducted by Monique Parkerin her role as a WIDD volunteer.
