Patty Vitsupakorn named 2021 Outstanding Senior for the Pamplin College of Business

The future looks bright for Patty Vitsupakorn, the 2021 Outstanding Senior for the Pamplin College of Business. She will walk across the graduation stage and into a consulting job at Clarabridge, relying on the vast experience she gained as a double-major in hospitality and tourism management and marketing. 

While Vitsupakorn is looking forward to starting her job with Clarabridge, she is currently working for a startup called Glimpse as a marketing and design strategist — a role that blends her marketing knowledge with her hospitality knowledge. 

“It’s definitely a good experience [to work for a startup] because you get to learn so many things and you aren’t confined to one role. I have a hand in everything,” Vitsupakorn said.

Vitsupakorn’s legacy at Virginia Tech will be characterized by a long list of accomplishments. She has been involved with several organizations, highlighting her time with PRISM, a student-run ad agency within Pamplin, and Gamma Phi Beta. 

“My clubs really helped me to gain real work experience,” she said. “Both PRISM and Gamma Phi were equally as helpful because they were two different aspects that gave me different perspectives.”

During her freshman year in Gamma Phi Beta, Vitsupakorn became social media chair and quickly climbed the ranks her sophomore year when she was elected as the public relations vice president. Her drive to gain more experience did not stop there. 

In her junior year, Vitsupakorn traveled abroad to Lugano, Switzerland, a trip that she said she will be forever grateful for. This experience, as well as her leadership roles within her sorority, did more than just provide her with incredible memories – they helped Vitsupakorn gain valuable social media prowess that she will take with her into her career.

She explained that much of the essential marketing skills and broad work experience she gained during college were through her involvement in PRISM. As director of multimedia, she was able to pursue her creative ambitions and strengthen her talents. The most notable projects, Vitsupakorn said, are the various videos that she created for PRISM’s biggest client: Pamplin. Being able to work with Pamplin was something that Vitsupakorn valued tremendously. 

“I’m really proud to be able to say that I’ve done so much work for Pamplin,” she said. “If I wasn’t in PRISM, I definitely wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities to work alongside Pamplin. I think that is one of the main reasons I won this award.”

However, her outstanding work with PRISM alone can’t take all of the credit. The summer after her freshman year, Vitsupakorn started her own jewelry business, Talay Jewelry. Owning and operating a business meant a hands-on learning experience that strengthened Vitsupakorn’s analytical skills. 

“I think my jewelry business actually helped me get my job because they asked what kind of data pieces I had analyzed and I was able to talk about Pinterest and Instagram analytics from my business,” she said.

Vitsupakorn even made LinkedIn into a game when it came to applying for jobs. In her downtime, she would browse the social networking site and apply to any job that appealed to her. Nothing can stop Vitsupakorn from searching for her next step, as she remains active on LinkedIn, understanding the importance of social networking and creating connections.

“I think it’s always good to seek out opportunities to challenge yourself,” Vitsupakorn said. 

She was determined to take advantage of every opportunity that came her way, and with that determination came her being extremely involved with her majors. She paid close attention to her inbox, starring every email discussing a scholarship opportunity. Her classes were more than just a place to attend lectures, as Vitsupakorn made it a point to develop relationships with her professors, and “gain the most value out of their past experiences in the industry.”

A large part of the reason Vitsupakorn has worked so hard and accomplished so much is her family. Vitsupakorn was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and her family has always instilled the importance of education into her and her younger brother. 

“My parents moved here so that we were able to get a better education and that’s why I’ve always strived to achieve so much,” she said. “I want to give back to them and make sure their sacrifice was worth it.”  

Growing up, Vitsupakorn’s parents encouraged her to pursue computer science or BIT, but they quickly recognized her aptitude for combining creative projects with business applications. 

“They always wanted me to follow a different career path for more job stability, but once they saw my potential in business and marketing, they supported me,” she said. 

“That’s really important to me. I think there’s sentiment in following your dreams.” 

— Written by Liz Plum