Marquette is a place where creativity, community, and entrepreneurship come to flourish. Within Invent@NMU, these values are held closely and executed daily. So, when looking for a new Marketing Coordinator for Innovate Marquette and Invent@NMU, Aubry Healy seemed like the perfect match with her artistic mind, marketing skill sets, and passion for mentoring in higher education.

Who is Aubry Healy? 

Aubry Healy is from Ludington, Michigan; a quaint tourist beach town on the west coast of Lake Michigan. As a Central Michigan University (CMU) graduate, Aubry obtained her bachelor’s degree in Integrative Public Relations with a minor in Multimedia Design and Associates of Arts degree from West Shore Community College.

As an active member of student organizations, she played the roles of student senate president at West Shore Community College and a senator of Graduate Studies/College of Art & Media at CMU. With a strong draw to photography, she was also Photo Editor of Grand 

Central Magazine, and Staff Photographer for Central Michigan Life at CMU. Aubry was offered a position as Marketing & Communications Specialist at a community bank before she graduated, where she spent 3 years continuing her marketing and public relations development.

Aubry has wanted to be involved in higher education since she attended West Shore Community College. As a passionate advocate for getting involved in college education outside of the classroom, working with Invent@NMU is the perfect fit for her. She provides an array of marketing insight from content creation and graphic design and copywriting to photography and videography. The student team is equally excited to have her as a guide through not only their college careers, but real-world career development. 

“Photography has always been something that has found its way into my life, in every job I’ve had.”

Photography 

Aubry started taking portrait and wedding photos professionally as a sophomore in high school, even working at a professional gallery. The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in her working from home for a year, which allowed her to dedicate some time to photography. She started taking photos of the sunset every night and realized how much she loved landscape photography. She jokes that portrait photography is her profession and now landscape photography is her hobby. 

Utilizing her photography skills in every campus job and owning a photography business throughout high school and college has created a sense of purpose for her and she has continued nurturing her small business for a decade.

Doing What Scares You

Aubry’s extracurricular experiences were the gateway to her continuous courage to do things that scare her. One of Aubry’s mentors, professional photographer Todd Reed, told her that his favorite thing about her is that she does things that scare her. From participating in a beauty pageant to being student senate president, Aubry seems to be drawn to experiences that live well outside of her comfort zone.

Testing the Waters

Aubry’s transition from banking to an entrepreneurial ecosystem has been nothing short of interesting. As a marketer in banking, she acquired skills and knowledge she never knew she’d need, but was yearning for something more creative. 

While she was in Marquette on vacation, Aubry’s friend urged her to apply to Innovate Marquette SmartZone. Despite her doubt that she’d get the job, Aubry checked all the boxes for the position and the doors officially opened for her to move to her favorite place: Marquette, Michigan. 

Why Marquette?

After a 10-year hiatus, Aubry spontaneously made the trip up north for Labor Day and hasn’t stopped coming back since. She fell in love with the Upper Peninsula and used most of her paid time off to explore Northern Michigan. Back in January, Aubry saw the quote “Don’t ignore what excites you, it’s not random” on Instagram and couldn’t ignore that Marquette had taken up a big space in her heart.

“I have never felt so happy as I feel when I’m in Marquette. When I’m there, I just feel more me.” 

Although the move is life-changing and a bit terrifying, Aubry knew it’s what she was meant to do. She is no stranger to fear, but also no stranger to audaciousness. As she steps into this next chapter of her life, Aubry hopes to make her mark on Invent@NMU and turn the place she loved to visit into home.