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Alumna Showcases Creative Spark at NYC Ad Agency
Amy Werblin ‘05 and a girls’ soccer teammate thought it would be fun to try out as kickers for Lightning Football in their junior year.
On the day of tryouts, her friend opted not to show up.
On the day of tryouts, her friend opted not to show up.
“I have a very distinct memory of feeling super confident at that moment and thinking not only am I doing this thing that's intimidating me, but I'm doing it despite the fact that the friend who I was going to go with, who's cooler and more interesting than I am -- in my mind -- isn't going to," Werblin said.
Despite having never kicked a football, she laced up her cleats and made the team.
“Maybe this is just a Sage Hill thing, but it was a lot more welcoming and upbeat,” Werblin said. “They were excited, and they wanted to have me on the team, which I also didn't expect.”
The trailblazing spirit Werblin developed at Sage Hill has served her well as creative director for Droga5, a New York City-headquartered advertising agency. Among her recent clients are Allstate, LinkedIn, Chase Sapphire, Paramount+ and Topo Chico Hard Seltzer.
Although Werblin enjoyed writing for The Bolt newspaper in its early years, she decided to apply her writing skills in industries outside of journalism. She fell into advertising after earning a psychology degree from Bates College and went on to study copywriting at the Miami Ad School Europe in Hamburg, Germany.
“It was kind of the first career I considered that really made any sort of sense to me in terms of long-term professional interest,” she said. “I can be a creative writer, but not feel completely untethered and like, for example, a freelance writer or a novelist where I am constantly hustling to find the next thing.”
Recently, Werblin supported HBO’s launch of “Dune: Prophecy” with an immersive pop-up experience for fans over three days at New York Comic Con. Attendees could walk through a sci-fi set among actors wearing costumes from the show.
“It was dark, there was smoke, and it was very creepy,” Werblin said.
For LinkedIn, Droga5 built a set in Brazil where they shot for three days. The program featured a young girl who flies and acts beside dancing clothes in a laundromat with both puppeteers and digitally created visual effects.
“We love to make films for TV because you can create a whole world,” Werblin said.
Like all creative industries, advertising has been disrupted by the emergence of AI like ChatGPT. Werblin remains confident that brands will always need professionals like her to think outside of the box.
“Creativity is never going to be replaced by a robot, because it requires new thinking and unique thought,” she said. “When a robot can do that, we have bigger problems than who's going to pay my salary.”
Current students should enjoy their great experience at Sage Hill but also remember it’s a “pit stop” on a continuing journey, Werblin said. She encourages graduating seniors to avoid putting too much stock in high school’s social life, athletics and accolades.
“I didn't make [high school] my whole identity on purpose,” she said. “I think that that saved me a little bit from some of the heartache that I saw some of my fellow college freshmen going through.”
Sage Hill School
Sage Hill School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship programs, and athletic and other School administered programs.