Uncommon success is boundless for Erin Horne Pacitti ’16

Former Division III athletes make some of the best interns, employees, and CEOs. Just ask Erin Horne Pacitti ’16 – she’s been all three. As a student, two things brought her to DePauw – the ability to swim on a team with a positive, driven culture and the ability to participate in the Media Fellows program with its professional internship aspect. Today, Erin still participates in sports (mainly, beach volleyball and surfing) to clear her head after long hours spent managing her own marketing agency, Boundless Marketing Co., in Charleston, South Carolina.

“I fell in love with the Pulliam Center right away,” she says, knowing after a prospective student visit and a Media Fellows interview on campus that the PCCM “would be my place. Some of my best memories are my favorite classes and late nights there working on projects and studying.”

The internship she landed (as part of the Media Fellows program requirements) on The Ellen DeGeneres show ended up being a major turning point. It pointed her away from the film and broadcast career she had been working toward for three years at DePauw..

Though her internship experience didn’t lead to a career like many students hope, she wouldn’t trade it. “I got to live in L.A. I met some people that are ridiculously successful now. Some of them are on national television. Some are COOs of major corporations. It’s wild. I can’t believe I was an intern with them.” It also exposed her to the passion and drive that some of her superiors and fellow interns had for the media environment, and she realized she didn’t feel that same passion. “I really think that’s the best you could ask for from an internship; you either find the thing you love or you figure out what you don’t love. And that’s what I always tell my interns now – if this is not the right fit for you, that is also a huge win. You can move forward with that knowledge.”

Upon returning to campus, she “doubled down” on the writing aspects of her communication and film studies majors. “I knew I would still have the critical thinking and communication skills outside of the film and television arena when I graduated, regardless of what happened.”

Another of Erin’s best memories: “the opportunity to compete and thrive in swimming all four years. We used to sit at the natatorium during the NCAA Nationals and match up the songs on our iPods so when we would walk out to race, we’d all have the same song playing in our headphones. Then, of course, I had professors and classmates who helped make that possible. I cared about swimming and competing, which meant they cared about it, and they supported that journey for me.”

It was during senior seminar, when alumni came into the class to talk about various careers in media-related fields, that Erin was drawn to the possibility of marketing and public relations. Neither of her parents, a teacher and a banker, were in creative fields, and it’s something she may never have considered without that introduction from alumni speakers. She went on to work in marketing for the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. There, as a hungry new grad on a marketing team of three for a large organization, she had opportunities to work on major projects, as well as recruit and manage interns.

“I’ve always loved working with interns and young talent, mentoring them and nurturing them, because I went into marketing without knowing a soul,” Erin says. What she notices about interns and employees from DePauw, and athletes in particular, is “that sense of urgency, professionalism, and ability to think beyond the task at hand,” as well as “grit and willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

All of the above, along with writing aptitude, are skills that have served Erin well as she builds Boundless Marketing Co. She also learned things she strives to create in her company culture: work-life balance and a sense of values that extends to working only with clients whose values align with those of Boundless and her team. “Founding a business has been the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I kind of feel like I was made for this,” she says, noting her work on crisis communications during the COVID-19 pandemic and her leadership roles as captain of the swim team, in Alpha Chi Omega, and in television at the Pulliam Center.

“I think I can create an agency environment that is truly healthy and sustainable,” she says, adding that she is driven by the culture she is curating for herself, her employees, and her clients.

A final note, Erin says that classes and mentoring with Professors Seth Friedman, Jonathan Nichols-Pethick, and Larry Abed were instrumental to her development and uncommon success. If you want to help prepare today’s DePauw students for uncommon and values-centered success like Erin’s, consider making a gift to support The Fund for DePauw.

Professional photos by Caroline Herring.