Creativity has always been a part of Paige Helms’s life. As a young kid in Irmo, she enjoyed colors and art classes and could often be found with an art project at hand to keep her busy. Today is no different and Paige can often be seen at the Engenius office with her faithful iPad and a new sketch or doodle. But how did an artist find her way into content strategy? Well, that’s a creative story.
Early Life in Irmo
Paige grew up in Irmo, SC with one brother and a handful of cousins who felt like siblings. Her mom was a teacher, and Paige loved feeling like the cool kid at school with the inside scoop. Of course, having a teacher as a parent meant she and her brother never got to skip class or get out early…but at the time, that seemed worth it. “I wanted to be just like my mom,” Paige says with a smile. “I thought her impact in people’s lives as a teacher was incredible, and I remember very early on wanting to pursue teaching as a career.” As she aged, however, she began to consider other avenues for making a difference.
When her high school asked her to pick a career track, she found herself selecting nursing. She took all the high school pre-nursing classes and chose her college, Lander, because of their nursing program. Nursing, however, wasn’t meant to be.
College & Early Career
Paige met her husband Zach during her time at Lander! After college, they started dating and fell in love.
“I remember calling my mom a few semesters in expressing how upset and disconnected I felt in my nursing major,” Paige shares. “She listened. We prayed together, and then she encouraged me to think about my earliest childhood dreams: teaching and art.” At first, Paige was apprehensive. The medical track had been her focus for several years and it felt intimidating to go back to a childhood dream. A key conversation with one of her aunts (who was also an art teacher for the public school system) changed her mind. Paige changed her major to visual arts with an emphasis in 3D Design. It felt like a fresh start, and college became a fun place again! That emotional shift gave Paige the affirmation she needed to know that pursuing what she loved was worth it!
Shortly after changing her major, Paige decided to spend her summer working at Asbury Hills Camp & Retreat Center. It seemed like a win-win. She would get to spend time in a beloved childhood spot, while also working with kids and developing skills for her education certificate. “I’d grown up attending the camp as a camper, and I loved the chance to go back to such a magical place,” Paige said. “I loved listening to the kids and hearing their stories and seeing how they changed throughout the summer.” In fact, Paige loved that first summer so much that she returned for two more summers as the camp photographer. “In my role as the camp photographer I got to chronicle the kids’ journeys.” Paige smiles. “It was an incredible experience and I developed a ton of professional skills!” Her interactions with campers were transformative, and, as graduation neared, Paige set her heart on teaching.
Early Career
Paige’s first job out of college was working as a high school teacher in a high-need school. The experience was rewarding, but also draining. The lack of support from administrators and parents alike was disheartening. She still loved working with kids, but she found herself wondering if teaching was right for her. “At first, I was simply looking into other schools,” Paige explains. “I was nervous about changing careers and hopeful that a new district and school environment would help.” She applied to a variety of school systems and even received a job offer from a new district, but something wasn’t right. “I kept wondering if there was something else out there,” she says. “My grandmother, who is an amazing woman of faith, encouraged me to trust that maybe God had something else in store for me. I remember declining the offer from the other school with no backup. A week later I got the call that Asbury Hills needed a full-time communications and marketing director.” That call was a dream come true and when that job offer was extended, Paige said yes!
Camp Life
Paige’s time working with Asbury Hills also meant teaching other marketers!
What followed were almost 7 years of professional growth as Paige stepped into the marketing world and began to hone her strategic and artistic skills. As the sole marketing representative for the camp, she had her hands in everything from the website and social media to events, blogs, marketing print materials, and more! Her first few years in the role were amazing, as she promoted an organization she loved and spent every summer working with campers and staff. She also began promoting what Asbury Hills was doing from a marketing standpoint to other camps — training and empowering them to expand their own marketing efforts.
As the time passed, however, she started to realize that the jack-of-all-trades title also means master-of-none. With this realization, Paige started searching for a role that would allow her greater specialization in one avenue of marketing. Then she found Engenius.
Finding Engenius
“I’d worked with Engenius for years on Asbury Hills’s website and I had attended several of Engenius’s educational events,” Paige explains. “I knew that the team here was kind and supportive, and the Content Strategist role intrigued me.”
It was a perfect hiring match! Paige’s experience in the marketing world made her a fit for Engenius’s content strategy role and her personal experience running campaigns and reviewing content aligned with the needs of our clients and the needs of our own internal team. In short, she’s the perfect person for her role and a phenomenal addition to the Engenius family.
For her part, Paige is loving a role where all the aspects of her creative personality can shine. “The team is incredible and I’ve loved learning so much this year with such a great group of people,” she shares. We totally agree.
