Christina Blankenship ’13

Christina Blankenship is Vice President of Product Excellence at  VaynerX, a collection of digital marketing and branding companies in New York City.

A lifelong dancer originally from Minnesota,  Blankenship chose Purchase because of the Conservatory of Dance’s excellent reputation, but also because of the opportunities it provided beyond dance. She recalls being drawn to the tagline’s promise to “Think Wide Open.”

While she always had interests beyond dance, a devastating ankle injury became “the best thing that ever happened,” believing she never would have branched out and found the BALA program if it hadn’t happened. She would combine her love of writing, the arts, and dance to create an individualized program combining dance and journalism, with a minor in arts management.

The BALA degree program allowed her to explore all sides of who she believed herself to be without leaving any part behind.

“I don’t fit into a major, that’s just who I am. A lot of people who come to Purchase are that way. There is no department for me. I am completely unique, and thank God Purchase understands that and hails it as a good thing.”

Always active outside the classroom, Blankenship won the College Writing Award, which opened up the opportunity to become a Peer Advisor, and she served as the PSGA president.

She also interned at the National Endowment for the Arts for a summer.