Niagara College students and staff had the opportunity to gain insight into building a career rooted in passion and creativity during the latest Speaker Series session.
On February 25, attendees gathered at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus for “Building the Brand – From Passion Project to Full-Time Business”, featuring NC alumna and former Student Development Coordinator Sarah Singleton. Singleton is now the founder and lead content creator of Hype Gal Media, a digital media agency specializing in content creation for brands, businesses, weddings and events.
The event was part of NC’s new Speaker Series, launched earlier this term by the Student Engagement team to support students as they navigate academic life, personal growth and the transition into their careers. Each session invites guest speakers to share real-world insight on leadership, resilience and professional development while giving students the chance to ask questions and reflect on their own career paths.
For Singleton, returning to campus as a speaker held special significance.
“It’s a full circle moment,” she said, reflecting on her journey from student to staff member and now returning to campus to lead a Speaker Series session on the business she built.
Following a Non-Linear Career Path
During her discussion, Singleton reflected on her non-linear educational and career journey. A graduate of NC’s Event Management program, she spent a decade in Student Engagement at the College, eventually becoming a Student Development Coordinator.
Alongside her work at the College, Singleton began exploring creative pursuits outside of her day-to-day role and in the world of wedding coordination, event planning and content creation.
While she loved her work at the College, Singleton shared that she always had “other cups that needed to be filled creatively.” Those creative pursuits would eventually become her full-time business, Hype Gal Media.
Building passion & confidence
Singleton began her talk by discussing the importance of finding passion and confidence. She described how traditional networking environments never felt natural to her and how she instead learned to build connections in ways that felt authentic to her, a mindset she first developed during her time as a student when she volunteered with NCSAC.
“That experience helped me build skills outside the classroom and connect with people in ways that felt comfortable for me,” she said.
Her journey into entrepreneurship began organically. Friends and family frequently turned to her to help coordinate events, weddings or capture social media content, skills she had a natural talent for through years of organizing gatherings and creating digital content.
“One of the best things you can do is pay attention to what people turn to you for,” she said. “Audit yourself and recognize where your expertise already exists.”
While still working at NC, Singleton started creating user-generated content for brands like Fiji Water, Airbnb, and major airlines. When the pandemics moved much of the world online, businesses and individuals turned to her for help building their social media presence, giving her new opportunities to use her skills.
“I didn’t start out thinking I would do this,” she said. “But when people asked if I could help, I found a way to make it happen using the skills I had.”
Growing her business
Despite the growing demand for her work, Singleton said she never imagined leaving the security of her job at the College.
That changed in 2023 when she officially named her business Hype Gal Media. Around the same time, more clients began requesting wedding content creation, something she had experience with separately through wedding coordination and content creation but had never combined as a service.
After producing wedding content for a colleague, she realized the potential for the idea and for her skills to grow.
“Something shifted,” she said. “I could suddenly envision doing this full time.”
Career breakthrough
A major turning point for the business came when Singleton landed a high-profile opportunity to shoot wedding content for NHL star Connor McDavid. The opportunity came after she put herself out there and reached out through a connection via an Instagram DM, a strategy that reflects her approach to networking in a ways that feels natural and comfortable to her.
This exposure really helped Hype Gal media find it’s place in the luxury events market with the McDavid wedding being published in Vogue. As demand grew, so did her team. What started as a solo business has grown into a team of five, completing 77 weddings in 2025 alone.
In March 2025, Singleton made the difficult decision to leave NC and focus on Hype Gal Media full time. While leaving a job she loved was not easy, she emphasized the importance of trusting yourself and taking a leap of faith.
Transferable skills
Throughout the session, Singleton emphasized the importance of a growth mindset and trusting yourself and others. She also highlighted transferable skills such as communication, relationship-building, and negotiation, developed through her years in Student Engagement at NC while pursuing her side hustle, that have been key to her success.
“The most important skill is communication,” she said, adding that the habit of following up and connecting with others in any capacity can help open doors.
The event concluded with a Q&A session, where attendees had the opportunity to ask questions about entrepreneurship, building confidence and balancing multiple interests and passions.
Singleton’s story demonstrated to students that education and careers do not always need to follow a linear path and the exciting opportunities that can arise from nurturing your passions alongside your skillset.
To view more of Hype Gal Media’s content visit the brand’s Instagram page here.
