Where Are They Now? with Olivia Jamison
Where Are They Now? with Olivia Jamison
By: Elena Ossoski
She’s confident, always on-trend, and an insanely hard worker: Olivia Jamison, a 2015 Business Marketing graduate from the University of Mississippi, has rightfully earned her status as an aspirational alumna. Jamison grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, surrounded by the same group of people until it was time to start her college career at Ole Miss. There is no doubt that her creativity, work ethic, and impressive record of involvement on and off-campus while at Ole Miss allowed her to kick start her covetable career.
“I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was drawn to Ole Miss partly because it was a tug on my heart. My then-boyfriend (now husband) had committed to play baseball at Ole Miss, which was what convinced me to give it a thought,” Jamison says.
Her heart was a major player in her decision to come to Ole Miss, but Jamison genuinely fell in love with the school because of the people, the vibrancy of the student life, and the enchanting charm that makes Oxford “truly one of the South’s greatest treasures.”
Jamison was just as busy during her time at Ole Miss as she is now. As a member of Chi Omega, Jamison reflects on how joining the Greek Community helped mold her character, allowed her always to be involved in on-campus events, and led her to her best friends. Jamison was also significantly involved off-campus while she worked at J.C. Graphics and interned for Vaughan Designs. She was able to evolve her design skills that have worked in her favor throughout her career thus far. She continued to flaunt her talents as a vendor at the Double Decker Arts Festival for four years in a row as a student and then as a freshly graduated creative, selling her modern abstract paintings.
“Ole Miss pushed me outside of my comfortable little bubble and I was encouraged to make new friends and I was constantly trying new things. My experiences have helped me so much in current as well as my previous jobs that I've held, allowing me to make meaningful connections with clients and coworkers.”
After getting a Business Marketing degree from the university back in 2015, Jamison decided to take some time for herself. Olivia found herself working at Free People and Anthropologie for six months before she moved on as a sales and design consultant for White Door Events in her hometown. Subsequently, she worked her way up to becoming Creative Director. Jamison has recently begun her exciting new chapter of her career as the Executive Coordinator at Titan Brands after nearly five fulfilling years at White Door Events.
When it comes to having an eye for design, Jamison takes the cake. Her contributions as a grade-A professional for White Door Events and Titan Brands speak for themselves. While consulting for White Door Events, Jamison’s talents were an irreplaceable attribute to the luxury event designing and staging that the company is known for.
“Of course, there is an endless amount of interior eye-candy online, but I love scouring antique stores and attending home-shows and markets as well to help hone-in on what I'm loving at the moment” Jamison says.
Along with most college graduates, Jamison’s career path so far does not look exactly as she had imagined it while growing up.
“Don't be afraid to apply for a job or take a career path that you've never considered before. That’s how I ended up at White Door Events - working in the hospitality industry was never on my radar while in college and I learned a crazy amount and had loads of fun!”
To this day, Jamison’s dream is to curate her own lifestyle store that encompasses her love for fashion, interior design, and party planning. Establishing her vision of the ideal lifestyle store will realistically occur in the online atmosphere, but her dream is to have her very own brick and mortar. Jamison is already making tracks to a larger social media presence with her trademark motto, “#WearWhatYouWant”, and her recently-launched account dedicated to her lifelong love for shopping (@oliviashopsonline).
“I'm a big believer in wearing what makes you happy and makes you feel good no matter where you are! For me, that led to marking my social media posts with the #WearWhatYouWant hashtag to encourage others to do the same. @oliviashopsonline has been my latest venture: a tiny step towards my dream of becoming a curated lifestyle source. I post my online finds every week or so.” Jamison continues to explain that, “I've always strayed from the path of ‘standard’ dressing. Never be afraid to try new things; confidence makes an outfit!”
Jamison’s sources for style inspiration are limitless, but social media has had the most considerable influence on her fashion choices. Her current style crushes are William McLure, Courtney Grow, Morgan Stewart, Rebecca Gardner, and Maison Shoppe.
“I have loved experimenting with the business-casual dress code that’s in place at my office. It's more formal and structured than my previous job, so the challenge of staying true to myself while dressing within reason has been a great creative exercise for my brain.” Her most-loved piece in her wardrobe is the metallic LoveShackFancy dress she wore for her birthday this year.
Accomplished and always-in-style, Jamison reminds our Square readers that, “Life doesn't end after college - it only gets more exciting with each year that goes by, and your life post-grad is your opportunity to create the life that you’ve always wanted! Don’t forget to cherish the company of the friends that you have from all over the country while they’re all in one place at school with you.”
To follow along with the rest of Olivia’s post-grad adventures, follow her on Instagram @liv.jamison and @oliviashopsonline! For more alumnae features like this one, continue to regularly check umsquaremagazine.com and follow us on Instagram.
Photos provided by Olivia Jamison