Written by Tyler Kohrs. Media by Riley Hannula.
With the technology we have today, it is easy to store and share memories on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or Tumblr. The hashtag is a trend that has more power than one would know. It is a way to communicate with anyone who expresses a common factor or interest. Clicking on a hashtag shows you who’s talking about the same subject on social media.
Greenville College’s Digital Marketing Manager and Adjunct Professor, Laura Hinrichsen, a GC alumnus from the class of 2008, is the mastermind behind the #AttendGC, which began early February. Hinrichsen says #AttendGC is all about starting a conversation. She remarked, “I teach speech communication at the college and in it I teach that communication is not a transaction. Communication is interaction, it is back and forth. Communication is having a conversation- there is listening, and there is responding. #AttendGC is something we launched in February, but we want to keep it going and continue adding to the conversation and sharing experiences.”
The following is Q&A with Hinrichsen explaining more about #AttendGC.
Hinrichsen: “The main purpose for #AttendGC is to raise awareness and start a conversation or continue a conversation about reasons why people should attend Greenville College. By doing this, the hope is for prospective students and parents to get an inside look at what GC is from a current student’s perspective. By searching the hashtag, they can click to see what campus life is really like through the lens of a GC student.”
Hinrichsen: “Students looking into different colleges use information on social media. Prospective students want to know what GC students are actually saying. For example, they may search for information about GC by using hashtags like #IHeartGC, #GCMakeItCount, #greenvillecollege and #AttendGC. They may see the hashtag in a post and then click on it to research more on what others are saying. We want to show who we are and invite the campus into the conversation, as well as those who want to attend Greenville College- this can help them see how awesome this place truly is.”
Hinrichsen: “We have the primary demographic of prospective undergraduate and graduate students. But we also want current students to share their great experiences by using #AttendGC on social media. Alumni are even looking at this hashtag and seeing all of the value that GC offers to students and the world. As a GC alumna, I love looking at students’ posts with the #IheartGC hashtag; #AttendGC is an extension of that idea. Having our Marketing Office use #AttendGC is one thing, but I would love for students to use it as well because they are the reason GC is the amazing place it is today.”
Hinrichsen concluded with the word community because it gets tossed around at GC a lot and it may not get taken seriously. However, Greenville College is a place where community makes everything work. Students are constantly in community whether it is in a classroom, a sport, at the Dining Commons, or even at Chapel or Vespers. The community is one of the reasons why GC alumni come back and continue to support the College. So get involved in the conversation, start using #AttendGC on your posts and be a part of what makes Greenville College so great.
