Meet Aliya Faust | Marketing and Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Aliya Faust and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Aliya, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Work life balance, for me, didn’t exist prior to 2020. Between the pandemic and some other personal things that happened before it hit, I didn’t separate work from life. Work was life. But I hit a wall and was burnt out to the point of physical exhaustion. If it were up to me, I would’ve kept going, but my body literally could not. And this was right before the pandemic. Working in a digital space during the pandemic, work actually picked up, but because I hit that wall earlier, I knew how to pace myself through an unusual influx of demand – everyone relied on digital everything from 2020-2022. What I learned though, while finally being able to say NO, was that work still got completed, life still went on. Nothing changed on the work front. But I got so much time back to myself. Years prior, I worked myself into exhaustion for something that could’ve been paced. Granted, who’s to say I’d be this far, at this point, if I hadn’t pushed myself to the max, but the decision came with a lot of losses and while I’m grateful for my success, I know I can’t go into the future sacrificing the intangible things like family, travel and experiences. There has to be balance between living to work and working to live, making a living and making a life. Back then, it was work over everything. Now, I just want to live. But I guess the imbalance created that opportunity for me to do so (freely) now. It’s tricky! I think at the end of the day you have to ask yourself, what are you goals and why. Who are you doing it for and why.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My career shifted from journalist to digital content manager to marketing director to creative director overtime. Two things they all have in common are story-telling and problem-solving, and I think that’s what sets me apart from others. With my combined experience, I recognize a story, I can create a story, market/brand/sell a story, and I can do all of it creatively, having been a writer, videographer and photographer in my reporter days when digital media and social media were just starting to really grow. It was not easy being everything at once, but it’s easy now being able to effectively create a strategic plan and work with others on getting it executed because I understand “process.”

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The first thing to do on the list for Nashville is visit the National Museum of African American Music. As many times I’ve been, it always feels like the first time. I’m obsessed. It’s so rich in culture. And right down the street is Justin Timberlake’s Twelve Thirty Club restaurant. It’s a whole vibe. I’m a foodie so we’d likely just eat the rest of the time. My favorite place to eat is tucked away from the inner city: Voodoo Gumbo in the Bellevue area. I’d also add First Watch and Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar (both located in Franklin, TN) to the list!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to my fellow Terp, Keyonna Jones. She was a graduating senior at University of Maryland College Park with a job at ABC news in D.C. I didn’t know her well at the time but she noticed little ol’ sophomore me. I don’t totally remember how it went down, but her job was looking for a production assistant and she recommended me for the position, for which I accepted and worked full-time while being a full-time student. Whatever she saw in me, I’m grateful for! Having such a legacy company under my belt at that early in my journalism career really kicked off things and fueled me to keep shooting for the stars.

Website: https://aliyafaust.com

Instagram: aliyafaust

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afaust32/

Other: https://hazelviewmedia.com