Our Alumni Archives

COMMunity alums Gina Menario (‘11) and Rachel Vandernick (‘13) have followed their career paths to WebpageFX, an internet marketing, web design, and development firm, based in Harrisburg, Pa. Commraderie caught up with Gina and Rachel to hear about their experiences.

Gina Menario (’11)

Currently working as a web project manager at WebpageFX, Gina Menario enables clients to grow their businesses through online marketing. On a daily basis, she collaborates with clients to create specs for website designs, review existing websites, and plan site edits and improvements. As part of the leadership team, she also takes part in internal initiatives and process improvement strategies.

She admitted that the hardest part of her job is keeping up with industry trends. “It is almost a fulltime job itself! Technology and the web are always changing,” she said.

While at Messiah, Gina earned her degree in communication (PR concentration) with a minor in sports management. Through an internship at JDRF fundraising, she worked to prepare for the company’s annual gala. This experience helped her develop professional skills, which have contributed to her success at WebpageFX. Her classroom learning has come in handy as well.

“People tend to say that they don’t use anything they learned in college in their day to day jobs,” Gina says. “I feel like I am the complete opposite. From Comm Theory to Business Writing, I use what I learned all the time.”

At Messiah, Gina served as the rec sports manager and participated in Eyas and the Homecoming Committee.

She advises current COMMunity students, “Learn the web! Whether it is a technology (WordPress) or just staying up to date on marketing trends…it is going to be helpful in landing you a job.”

Rachel Vandernick (’13)

For Rachel Vandernick earning a B.A. in public relations was not her original choice. She says, “I thought I wanted to be a teacher, but really hated my classes and basically everything that being a teacher would involve. I took a few comm classes, and once I took crisis comm, I was hooked. I loved the professors, and the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn.”

Rachel currently uses her communication and public relations skills working a social media specialist and account manager at WebpageFX. As part of her role, she strives to enhance and protect her clients’ online reputations by developing social content, improving existing content by examining reporting structures, pitching new campaigns, and performing social audits on perspective clients.

“I manage every part of my client’s social presence, including their digital advertising,” she notes, “so every day is different, depending on what has popped up overnight that needs immediate attention.”

The only Spanish-speaking social media account manager at WebpageFX, Rachel also assists with international social accounts that require Spanish translation or content. Beyond crossing cultures, she also crosses time zones, a sometimes challenging juggle.

“Most of my clients are in different time zones, and they sometimes need things at odd East Coast hours,” she explains. “Scheduling calls and in general contacting them takes some time to figure it out (plus keeping track of who is in what time zone, so I don’t accidentally call them at 5 am—which I once did).”

Before joining WebpageFX, Rachel completed seven internships, and during her senior year, she secured a job as a social media account associate for a virtual communications firm.

She explained, “I gained a lot of experience in my internships, and networked my way through school, which helped get me my first job, and subsequently this one.”

Rachel encourages COMMunity students, “Always be courteous, and follow up with your interviewers. I once interviewed for a job that I was turned down for, only to be offered a job by that same company (without having applied!) because they remembered my passion and I kept in touch afterwards. You never know what you’ll be remembered for—try to make it positive!” 

-Emily Carter ('16)