University Star

Sitting at a cubicle and staring at the same four walls every day, Jessie Spielvogel knew a desk job was not for her.

Spielvogel graduated from Texas State in 2010 with a B.A. in journalism and got a job running social media accounts for three different networks for The Discovery Channel, but was unhappy with the work environment. A friend of Spielvogel’s contacted her on behalf of a family friend who needed help running a blog and accepted the work as a freelancer.

Soon after, the family friend became the first client in Spielvogel’s own business, Split Aces Media, where she works as an online marketing consultant.

“Most of the time, I’m either blogging, reaching out to potential business, doing some kind of research to help my clients get better online or writing social media for small business,” Spielvogel said. “It just depends on what comes in that week.”

Spielvogel can work from wherever she wants because she is her own boss. She has maintained her business from Ecuador, Chicago, Mexico City, Boston and other places.

“The ability to work from anywhere is unbelievable for me,” Spielvogel said. “It’s been the best part of this whole thing.”

The timing of her work schedule is also flexible.

“My schedule’s so different on a day to day basis,” Spielvogel said. “I don’t really have a normal schedule yet, and I don’t know if I ever will, or if I’ll ever want to.”

Spielvogel still keeps in touch with some of her professors at Texas State, including Cindy Royal, associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“She has gone after owning her own business with such optimism and enthusiasm, like everything else that she’s done, that she’s been very successful in developing her own social media consultancy,” Royal said.

Another former professor Spielvogel keeps in contact with is David Nolan, senior lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

“What separates some students from other students is that they really want the knowledge. They want to be able to improve on what they already know and to take it even further, and Jessie was always that way,” Nolan said.

Spielvogel has also learned skills essential to her work with faculty.

“Even though I’m not using journalism in my career, I think it taught me work ethic, turning things in on time and deadline,” Spielvogel said. “All of those things came from Texas State. I’d never have that experience anywhere else.”

Split Aces Media developed from the first client into a business that caters to multiple, varied businesses and is still growing, Spielvogel said.

“It just kind of took on a life of its own, and it’s been hard work,” she said. “It’s been stressful, but I’m just getting started.”