Dorothy Freeman Self \u201904 M\u201906 admitted that she was not always \u201ca numbers-minded businessperson.\u201d Instead of economics or accounting courses at Furman, she focused on her philosophy major and interdisciplinary concentrations in women\u2019s studies and classical studies, and on her graduate studies in early childhood development.<\/p>\n
But the numbers eventually added up for Freeman Self, celebrating 10 years as the founder of DFS Creative Concepts<\/a>, a marketing and digital advertising agency.<\/p>\n She was selected as one of 2017\u2019s Best and Brightest 35 and Under<\/a> by Greenville Business Magazine, and has served on the board of the Better Business Bureau of the Upstate and chairs the bureau\u2019s Local Advertising Review Panel. Her growing company\u2019s clients include dozens of prominent local, regional, national and international businesses\u00a0and organizations. And she has her largely humanities-based Furman education to thank.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I truly had to boil it down, majoring in philosophy made me what I am today,\u201d she said. \u201cFurman encourages you to evaluate who you are and what you believe, and the key to understanding that was philosophy \u2013 learning how to articulate beliefs to different audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n Although she had family connections to Furman \u2013 her father, Doug Freeman \u201972, is a former member of the Board of Trustees, and her grandfather graduated from Furman in the 1940s \u2013 it wasn\u2019t a foregone conclusion that she would attend Furman when she began her college search from her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. But Furman\u2019s \u201cwelcoming spirit\u201d swayed her during a campus visit.<\/p>\n She soon found faculty mentors in English professor Butler Brewton and philosophy professors Sarah Worth \u201992 and the late Thomas Buford.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I took every class Dr. Worth taught,\u201d she said. \u201cShe truly changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I remember most about her was our conversations outside of class about life and growing and growing pains,\u201d said Worth. \u201cI knew she would fly, and it was great to see her do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe was an exceptional undergraduate and graduate student,\u201d said another mentor, Scott Henderson, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Education. \u201cShe was engaged, curious, compassionate, empathetic and creative. I could always count on her to make an insightful comment or raise an intriguing question.\u201d<\/p>\n A member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, which she later served as an advisor, Freeman Self also discovered \u201cthe most amazing program I had ever heard of\u201d \u2013 the Bridges to a Brighter Future<\/a> college access and success program.<\/p>\n After Furman, Freeman Self taught for several years until around 2008, when her private school closed during the economic downturn.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018Oh, my gosh, it\u2019s time to figure out another life plan,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cSo I got a job utilizing a different skill set.\u201d<\/p>\n She began helping with marketing at an interior design firm, making connections that would lead her to work in special events, advertising, marketing, event planning and writing at The Greenville News and TALK Magazine. When she ultimately ventured out on her own, she kept those connections.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd before I knew it, I had a bevy of clients that I was working with,\u201d she said. \u201cI just sort of fell into owning a business. I guess I didn\u2019t really realize I owned a business until I was in it.\u201d<\/p>\n Help in those early years came from a series of interns from Furman, whom Freeman Self has \u201ctruly loved,\u201d she said, keeping up with about 30 over the years.<\/p>\n