story by Melissa Chavez '04
At a time when few people knew what American studies was, Noelle Sanderson '91 was not only majoring in it, but using knowledge from her classes to monitor the nation's thoughts, while summing them up in simple greeting cards.
To Sanderson, a greeting card is more than it seems. She has spent the past 14 years studying societal trends, so that everyone can find a message in their own voice when sending a card to a loved one.
Sanderson credits her position as editorial director for Paramount Cards, headquartered in Providence, RI and the nation's third-largest card publisher, to her coursework in American studies.
"My very first course was American Studies 201 [an introductory course]," she recalled. "Wayne Hobson [professor of American studies and director of the University Honors Program] was the initial instructor who got me interested in the major."
She remembered how she was hooked from the beginning because "all the instructors were so knowledgeable, and it was so interesting."
Terri Snyder, professor of liberal studies, remembers Sanderson from the "Visual Arts in Contemporary America" course she taught nearly 15 years ago. "Noelle was a terrific student, one of many memorable students, and particularly imaginative," Snyder recalled. "We discussed the relationship between visual images - photos, paintings - and what they reflect about American culture."
Sanderson started in the greeting card industry just before she graduated, working for American Greetings, the largest publicly owned greeting card company today, located in Burbank.
At Paramount Cards, where Sanderson has worked the past seven years, she finds inspiration in many forms. She goes through artwork and photographs from magazines looking for social trends, then "taking the themes and making that into a sentiment that is universally appealing.
"I feel I am doing something where you share in the celebratory experience with others, providing an emotional service," she said. "I am proud of my work, mostly because [the cards] could become a keepsake, helping people to share their feelings again."
Even if it means getting a jumpstart on Valentine's Day cards by brainstorming in April, or getting into the holiday spirit around the time of Independence Day, Sanderson loves the variety society brings to her job.
"Even on bad days, I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing."
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