There comes a time in every Greyhound’s career when one must step away from being a student and start their journey as a Loyola-ready graduate. For Jaime Gialloreto ‘21, this transition into adulthood was not immune to its challenges.
Gialloreto was one of the graduating classes to do so in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, as she earned her bachelor’s degree in Communications with a specialization in Public Relations and a minor in Marketing in Spring 2021. As a result of her experiences at Loyola, Gialloreto was able to graduate and start a job at a strategic full-service communications agency in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“The best part is that you have more freedom. I think flexing different muscles every day working at an agency, I’m constantly challenged to think differently than I did the day before. I’m presented with different challenges, so, the mental stimulation is there for sure,” she said.
In addition to her everyday routine, Gialloreto is also a part-time cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. She’s a former member of Loyola University’s Dance Team and, due to the pandemic, her final performances as a senior were cut short. With the help of her coaches and Loyola dance teammates, her future as a dancer continued with an invitation to cheer for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’ve been an Eagles fan since birth, so it was kind of just the perfect team for me to try out for and continue my dance career. My coaches were an instrumental part of my preparation as I would send them the videos that I was submitting because part of the audition was online,” she said.
Gialloreto has proven that the paths of PR and dancing can overlap. A large part of her job as an Eagles cheerleader has to do with representing the brand and acting as a public figure to the organization. This could be through interviews, social media, and even live broadcasts.
“A huge part of being an Eagles cheerleader is being a brand ambassador for the organization and being a huge influence in the community. We’re always at events that have nothing to do with football and the connections I make through cheerleading absolutely helped me in my full-time job as well,” she said.
With a career in her chosen study and a part-time position to keep her busy, Gialloreto considers herself “luckier than most.” However, there were obstacles that she had to overcome to do the things she wanted. These included rejection from jobs, the feeling of failure, and the unknown.
“Senior year is so full of unknowns and I had absolutely nothing settled at graduation. I did not have a job all of May, I was just applying everywhere, things were not landing, and I was interviewing and not hearing back, it was just so humbling,” she said.
Gialloreto admits that she would be the first to say that “anything good is never free.” Her time at Loyola, although as short as it may have felt, prepared her for a variety of the challenges she’d have to face. According to Gialloreto, “a strong work ethic is as valuable as any skill Loyola could have taught her.”
“You just have to trust that the universe will work itself out. I’m a big proponent of manifestation, putting things into the universe that you really want and also putting the work into it. Things aren’t just going to happen to you because you want them to.”
