Cricket Treanor '18 never planned on a career in marketing — in fact, she never even took a marketing class at Bucknell. But with a double-major in economics and environmental studies, she brought curiosity, values and a passion for sustainability to Patagonia. 

Starting as a sales associate, her dedication and alignment with the company's mission propelled her to Ventura, Calif., where she now manages affiliate partnerships. 

How did your Bucknell experience — inside and outside the classroom — help shape your career path?

Being part of Bucknell's close-knit community showed me how impactful meaningful connections can be, and it continues to have a big influence on the decisions I make about where I live, my career and the people I surround myself with. I've always valued being surrounded by a strong community, and this continues to be true in my choice to work at Patagonia and in my role managing affiliate partnerships.

Ventura and Lewisburg have a lot of similarities. When you walk around town, you always see a familiar face, and it feels like people have your back. I think this makes both places feel special to be part of.

In my day-to-day work, I focus on growing strong relationships with our partners to help us both achieve mutually beneficial goals. I'm also finding the value in connections in the affiliate industry by networking, building relationships and learning from people in the space. I think a lot of how I view the importance of connection and community was fostered through living in Lewisburg and going to Bucknell.

Which classes or professors at Bucknell had a lasting impact on you?

Taking environmental studies courses and seeing the impact we're having on the planet through pollution and overconsumption had a big impact on me. It helped me realize that I wanted to work to help bring awareness to and reduce the impact that we're having on the planet. But, because of my economics degree, I realize not everyone's going to be thinking about the sustainability of their purchases. So, in a lot of ways, my degrees work together. I get to think economically — why people make decisions based on money — and about environmental issues and the ways that people can be more aware of what's happening and take action. It's led me to work at a company that is thinking about both economics and environmental sustainability equally, and it's something that drives me every day, and it's why I'm so passionate about working here.

Professor Ben Marsh, geography, environmental studies & sciences, emeritus, was my senior adviser, and I had a great relationship with him. I took the most courses with him, and I was really interested in the coursework.

Professor Andrew Stuhl, environmental studies & sciences, was another professor who persuaded me to become an environmental studies major. He was really thinking outside the box of how to teach environmental studies. He taught a class called Cold Places, and he took us on hiking and camping trips. Those classes helped round out my coursework and guide the path I'm on now.

What's something you wish you had known as a student that you know now?

As a student, I was really unsure of the direction I was going to go, and I didn't feel like I had a clear path. It was a little bit scary graduating, but I think if I had known that if I led with my values, and found ways to integrate them into my career, then it would lead me to a place that makes me really happy.

For me, working for a company that values environmental responsibility helped me feel like I was making an impact, and I was able to learn what I was good at and find opportunities to work on those skills within Patagonia. The affiliate marketing manager position didn't exist before I got here. I took an interest in the channel and started working on it along with my other marketing work, and helped make the case for Patagonia to create a role for me to manage that channel in-house. I had no idea that this was the direction I was going to go.

In my time at Patagonia, I've had five different roles and gotten a lot of great marketing experience, and I've landed a role that I'm really proud of. It ended up working out because I understood what I valued in a career and in a company and what I was good at, and it led me down this path of finding a role that suits me really well.