Shannon Welch – January 2019
Texas A&M Department of Economics Amazing Student
January, 2019
Name: Shannon Welch
Hometown: Weatherford, TX
High School: Weatherford HS
Degree objective: I completed my Freshman year at Texas Tech University, where I double majored in Finance and Accounting. I transferred to Texas A&M University my Sophomore year where I chose to change my major to economics, and I am now pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Economics
Expected graduation: May 2019
University highlights, awards, scholarships: I am currently serving as the President of Texas A&M Women in Economics, where I am honored to lead an amazing group of young women who are striving to excel in their respective fields. I am a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, and was honored to make the Dean’s List in 2015. Last year, I was also asked to participate in an interview with a Forbes writer about my success on Poshmark.
Clubs/Organizations I am (was) a part of: I am the President of Texas A&M Women in Economics, and am honored to have been a member for two years. Women in Economics is a professional development organization for exceptional young women in the world of economics. As the active President, I work one on one with international businesses and major corporations to invite successful women to come to campus and share their stories with our members. As a member, I have been lucky enough to develop close relationships with amazing women from companies like BP, Deloitte, Insight Global, and many more. I am also a member of Texas A&M Economics Society, in which I get the opportunity talk one on one with several amazing executives in the economics field or a similar industry
Current employment: In 2015, I started my own business on Etsy, where I took vintage clothing and reworked it to give it a fun and unique edge. I continued my work for about 2 years, at which point I was no longer able to balance the demand for my product and pursue my education on my own. At this point, I decided to take a slight turn with my business approach. In 2014, I started to sell items on the app Poshmark, and in late 2016 I decided to start my own business on the app. Currently, I buy and sell clothes on Poshmark as my full time job. Over the past few years, I have grown a clientele of over 115,000 people, sold over 4,300 items, and hit a record sales revenue of over $90k in the last year. I handle all aspects of the business on my own, from keeping books and merchandising all the way to shipping and handling. I also participate in the Posh On Campus Program every semester through Poshmark, in which I use marketing skills almost daily to help grow the on campus Poshmark community and work one on one with Poshmark executives and other Posh mark sellers on campuses all over the United States. This summer, I worked at Messina Hof Winery & Resort as a Designer Events Intern. As an intern, I ran in house events by myself, kept books and created hard cost sheets for each event. I greatly enjoyed my experience and time at Messina Hof and highly recommend their internships to anyone who might be interested.
Family ties to Texas A&M: I am a first generation A&M student, and the second person in my family to graduate from college.
I chose to attend Texas A&M because… After attending Texas Tech University, I knew it wasn’t the place for me and decided to start looking at my other options. When I came across Texas A&M I already knew several people that were students here, and they all had such great things to say so I decided it was had to be the right place for me!
My favorite things to do on campus are… When I’m on campus, I’m almost always in the Allen building. Therefore, I’d have to say my favorite thing to do on campus is to get a coffee from the 41 Club and hang out in between classes in the atrium.
When I have free time, I like… In my free time, you will most often find me either thrifting for new merchandise, or playing with my French Bulldog, Lola.
The craziest thing I’ve done is… The craziest thing I’ve ever done is when I was 14 years old, I traveled to Hawaii with my family and we biked down a volcano. We woke up around 4 am local time, took a bus up to the top and watched the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. We then got on our bikes and followed a guide down the windy roads of Mount Haleakala. It was one of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever done, but skydiving is definitely next on the list.
My favorite place to study is… My favorite place to study on campus is the Annex. I find that there is always a quiet place to study in one of the rooms and it’s never too crowded.
My favorite ECON professor is… Thus far, my favorite ECON course that I’ve taken is Public Finance, which is taught by Professor Gronberg, who also happens to be my favorite professor. I have had so many amazing professors in the ECON department, but there is something about how much Professor Gronberg cares about his students that really stood out to me. I always felt that he truly wanted us to learn the material and be excited about it. If someone was struggling in his class, he understood that the material is very difficult and took it upon himself to find a way to accommodate that specific persons learning preferences so they would better understand what we were learning. When I first started his class I was rather intimidated by the fact that he was the department head, but I quickly learned that he wanted to help us in any way that he could. I specifically remember on the first day of class he encouraged us to come to his office with any questions, or “just to talk about life.” He is an amazing Professor as well as an exceptional person, and I highly encourage everyone to take the opportunity to speak with him if they get it.
My favorite part of being an Economics student is… My absolute favorite part of being an economics student has been my experience working with the department staff. As the President of Women in Economics I have had the pleasure of working closely with Rochelle Read, who is an advisor for the economics students as well as a co-advisor for Women in Economics. I have also been lucky enough to work with Kurt Felpel, who is the Manager of the Department of Economics. Working alongside these two amazing people has been crucial to my success as a student and as the President of WIE. I could not be more thankful for all of the help and support I have received from them, and I can say with complete confidence that they have made my experience here at A&M considerably better.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with… If I could spend and afternoon with anyone, it would be Sophia Amoruso. Sophia started her own business on Ebay selling clothes, and has since launched her business into the well known clothing brand, Nasty Gal. She truly started her business from the ground up, with no background in fashion or business. Sophia is a success story, and I hope to have a story similar to hers one day.
If I knew I could not fail, I would… If I knew that I could not fail, I would continue to work as a merchandiser and run my own business on Poshmark. I absolutely love what I do, I am lucky enough to shop all day and still challenge myself (what girl wouldn’t want that, right?). They say you never work a day in your life if you love what you do, and I truly love what I do.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to… If money was not a consideration, I would love to continue my education and pursue a Masters in Business, while also gaining more knowledge of fashion to strengthen my background in E-commerce.
What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it? My passion is my work. Whatever I do, I commit to it 100% and put my all into it. Currently, I would say that my biggest passion is my business. It is incredibly satisfying to watch it grow, and know that it is all because of the work that I am putting into it on a daily basis. There is no better feeling than to know that your hard work is paying off. I also get to help other women find their voice and their passion on Poshmark by sharing my experience and knowledge. Posh mark is helping women all over the world regain their independence, and to be able to say I’m a part of that feels amazing.
After graduation, I plan to… After graduation, I plan to continue my business and pursue a career in E-commerce. My dream is to get a job with Poshmark headquarters and help grow their business from it’s core. I am truly passionate about what they do as a company and stand behind their values. I also plan to move to the West Coast and start my life there. Above all else, my main goal after graduation is to find a job that I love, in an environment where I feel included, at a company where I fed valued.
The one Texas A&M experience I will always remember is… My very last football game as a student will absolutely be the last Texas A&M memory that I will hold with me forever. In November of2018, I was lucky enough to attend the A&M vs. LSU football game. People always talk about how unified and crazy the student section gets at A&M games, but I have never felt one quite like this before. When A&M beat LSU for the first time in years, in the longest scoring game in collegiate history, the students rushed the field and all celebrated together. I have never felt a more unified environment and can’t say that I ever will again.