Claire Heleniak

by Twister Marquiss

For many Americans, the word “resilience” has become an ironically tired term. In academia and in the workplace, the word has been overused to the point of being cliché, reminding both those using it and those hearing it that we have been facing unprecedented difficulties daily — from a worldwide pandemic to a recession to personal traumas. 

The word “resilience,” by definition, refers a capacity to recover from these difficulties.

It refers to toughness.

It refers to Claire Heleniak.

A spring 2023 graduate of the McCoy College of Business with dual degrees in Marketing and Computer Information Systems (CIS) — she double-majored — Heleniak breathes fresh air into the word “resilience.”

Her dad was a physical education teacher. Her mom is a second-grade teacher. Heleniak had been in her schools’ bands, starting back in sixth grade. She plays piccolo and flute. The Austin native joined her school's marching band in ninth grade, and band would remain important to her throughout college. 

But Heleniak knew she wanted to go into business. She took intro-to-business courses at Stephen F. Austin High School and found them very interesting.

“I could explore my creative side but also the other side — the analytical side — of my brain,” Heleniak says. “I started at Texas State as a marketing major. I picked Texas State because they had a marketing club, they had a band, and they were close to home. When I started college, I was more introverted, and I knew that a marketing club and band would help me meet people and make friends.”

She visited other campuses, but she says that Texas State and the McCoy College of Business hit all the right notes — and Texas State was the most affordable. 

Heleniak started at Texas State during the 2018-2019 academic year, which went well.

Then her entire world shattered.

On the morning of June 14, 2019, Heleniak’s father said goodbye to her mother as he left for a bike ride with a friend. At 10 a.m., Heleniak’s mother received a call from an ambulance. Her father never returned.

“Dad’s passing hit hard,” she says. “I was supposed to study abroad in Spain, but I didn’t go. I struggled that fall and throughout the year. Grief is not a linear process. You don’t wake up one day and you’re all better. I knew in August that I was still grieving. I made my professors aware, in case I needed to leave for my family.”

Unfortunately, more hard news would follow.

Over the course of next year, Heleniak lost her paternal grandmother, her maternal grandmother, and her dog. And the COVID-19 pandemic also swept the planet in 2020.

“There were a few moments in 2020-2021 that were good,” Heleniak says, “but I wouldn’t say I ever really smiled.”

Things finally turned around in 2021.

One positive moment came in the form of a video. Texas State’s Common Experience — the university’s academic theme and events — posted a preview of the 2021-2022 theme, “Compassion,” which featured a photo of Heleniak and her father, mother, and brother. The photo had been taken during Family Weekend in 2018, and it was only a matter of happenstance that the photo appeared in the video and that Heleniak saw it. Coincidentally, the image appeared during a portion of the video where the narrator said the word “family.”

She wrote a direct message to the Common Experience account on Instagram, sharing her story. With help from the staff at University Marketing, the Common Experience team was able to provide a large, high-resolution version of the photo for Heleniak.

A Hard Reset

As Heleniak rediscovered herself as a student, still coping with the weight of grief, she began to embody the word “resilience” in her ability to recover — and her ability to thrive.

“I had taken CIS 1323 [Introduction to Microcomputer Applications] my first semester,” she says. “That class is the reason I added a CIS major — to do a double major in marketing and CIS. I added it a month after my dad died. [Lecturer Zachary Michael] Kelley asked to speak to me. He said, ‘You got a 105 on final, and 100 in class. You should consider it.’”

She thought that Computer Information Systems was something she could be interested in.

“I really added [a CIS major] because I’m fascinated with tech industry and the future of it,” she says. “I thought that adding CIS major would make me more marketable and help me stand out. I would be able to communicate with both engineer/analytical side and the marketing side.”

She says she also likes all the different aspects of marketing.

“I’m fascinated by analytics and research side [of marketing],” she says, “but also the creative side of marketing a brand or service to a target consumer audience.”

Besides Kelley’s CIS course, Heleniak says her favorite classes included Consumer Behavior with Dr. Karen Smith, International Marketing with Dr. Anna Turri, and Marketing Management with Dr. Nancy Sirianni.

“They were nice people,” Heleniak says, “but I liked how they structured their classes. You’re learning the material, but you’re also practicing the material. It was experiential learning.”

While at Texas State, Heleniak spent two years in the Bobcat Marching Band and four years as a member of the Bobcat Basketball Band.

She also served as vice president of special projects (community service) for Tau Beta Sigma, the music sorority.

However, it was her work for Texas State’s chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) that showcased her capacity for leadership. As co-president of AMA, she guided the chapter throughout the 2022-2023 academic year, including four awards at the International Collegiate Conference this spring.

Her successor as president, Emily Lyons, says that Heleniak has been an inspirational leader.

“She’s one of the best leaders I have ever met,” Lyons says, “and her passion for AMA inspires me to take on the role of president next year, in hopes that I can run the organization as well as she did. She deserves all the recognition.”

Heleniak graduated from the McCoy College of Business on May 11. Today she is social media specialist at Austin Woman Magazine, a role that started as an internship in June 2022, followed by promotion to a staff position in October 2022. 

While grief may not be a linear process, becoming an outstanding leader usually is a linear process. So, it seems that Claire Heleniak may define both resilience and persistence. ✯