It wasn’t long before Jean-Baptiste’s hustling started paying off. She began securing interviews and writing features on women’s wellness for such publications and websites as The Zoe Report, Ebony, and Greatist.
“It really grew my confidence. I saw that people were really liking my ideas and paying me real money for them,” she said. “That was the first turning point in my career as a writer and media professional. I realized, oh, I can actually do this.”
“That was the first turning point in my career as a writer and media professional. I realized, oh, I can actually do this.”
While at Hamilton, Jean-Baptiste co-founded the Catcall Collective. A member of Phi Beta Chi, Jean-Baptiste valued the ethos of trust, inclusivity, and community the sorority provided and thought it could be transformative for others. “So we literally set up in front of Burke Library with a table and a shoebox,” she recalled. “We were telling people, ‘Hey we’re the Catcall Collective, and we’d love to give you an opportunity to anonymously write down a gender-based experience.’”
Jean-Baptiste and co-founder Maude Wilson ’17 then posted these notes on Instagram. DMs flooded in, and the Catcall Collective soon went viral; countless others anonymously shared their own stories of gender-based harassment that they’d felt pressured to keep to themselves. The Catcall Collective, which today has nearly 40,000 followers across multiple platforms, was Jean-Baptiste’s first foray into the world of social media.
In 2021, she joined InStyle magazine’s social media team. There she became social media editor and saw her work receive a Webby nomination in 2022. It’s a pressure-packed job that holds immense power. “You hold all the keys in your hand, which is a little scary,” Jean-Baptiste said. “There are a lot of factors to consider, from analytics and knowing your audience to understanding algorithms and cultural trends.”
Today, she works for the BBC’s social team and uses her journalistic and media skills to promote stories that dive into everything from science, tech, and AI to culture, movies, and travel. The Jean-Baptiste who was pursuing her passions behind a receptionist desk and in front of Burke Library would certainly be proud.
