The Catalyst (TC): Where did you grow up, attend college and what did you major in?

Cat Adamis (CA): I grew up right here in San Carlos. I went to Mercy high school, but now I’m rooting for NDB. I went to college at Santa Clara University, majoring in Anthropology. Then I went on and got a Master’s in Public Health from San Jose State. So I was educating people about health and just how to be healthy, and also marketing health programs to begin with. That transitioned to marketing and I felt like I couldn’t find that community that I experienced in high school or college. So I wanted to come back and market for a school.

TC: What are some notable jobs that you’ve had before this role?

CA: I was the marketing manager at a preschool day school, St. Matthews, in San Mateo. That was my first entry back into the school environment, which was really fun. But it was really my goal to get here because I wanted to be part of this mission, empowering women since that’s how I grew up with going to an all girls school. Then I was also at Stanford doing marketing for them. Then before that, I was at Sequoia healthcare district in Redwood City and I was marketing their health programs. I was basically connecting people to free and low cost health centers in the area. So I had launched a new website, connecting people with everything that was available and just advertising it like crazy.

TC: Why did you decide to work at NDB?

CA: For me, working at NDB is like coming home. Just having grown up in the area, my husband went to Serra, I went to Mercy, my grandma and my aunt went here, and I also have so many friends here as well. So for me, tri-school was huge back in school and I feel super connected to all the schools. It was like coming back to where I grew up and giving back to that community that built who I am. It hasn’t just prepared me for my career, but for my life, too.

TC: Can you give an overview of your role as the Marketing and Communications Manager?

CA: I’m in charge of the outward facing messaging and visuals of the school. I’ll be doing a lot of photography and videography, really capturing things like day to day life, the events on campus, what the academics are like, what the different programs are like, the arts and really giving an eye into the school. Eventually we’re going to have a new website, so that will be really nice. Right now I’m creating admissions materials for all those girls that are looking at the school, and reading about it and seeing it. Social media is a huge one and we’re trying to really show that the school is active and the girls have a lot going on. I’m just getting an eye into everything and showing it to families.

TC: How do you approach posting on social media? What is your tactic for ensuring an engaging post?

CA: I try to get a breath of everything and so I have it in my mind that I need to feature science, the arts, clubs on campus, activities, athletics or anything like that. I work with the faculty to capture all those things. It’s really just having that overview of the school in mind, and then showing little pieces of it to the community.

TC: Do you have any goals for this school year, relating to marketing?

CA: I’m hoping to refresh our materials, we also really need a fresh modern website. Our materials have been used for admissions for the last few years. So it’s really just kind of giving it a refresh and bringing in the current population that’s looking at the school.

TC: Many students are interested in studying business in college and pursuing a career in marketing. Do you have any advice or tips for them?

CA: I would just say to get your feet wet. Experience as much as you can, whether that’s an internship or coming in to see me and asking how you can help with a post. I really want to get students involved. I want the clubs and the students to know that, I want to feature them on the main channel. Anytime that they want me to come feature something, or they’re interested in making a video they can always reach out. But yeah, just get experience with it a little bit, whether it’s a club or working with me or an internship.