Some passions don’t fade with time. They grow with you.

For Mal Grant, a senior management and leadership major at Missouri State University, that passion began with an American Girl catalog left on her porch when she was in kindergarten. It was the beginning of something that would impact her life.

Connecting with an audience

Grant started posting American Girl-related videos on YouTube in elementary school, long before influencer marketing was a common career path. It was initially a way to connect with others who shared her interest and gradually grew into something bigger.

Over time, her content evolved. Unboxings turned into thoughtful reviews. Doll room tours became staged photo shoots. What remained constant was her approach: everyday, personal and honest.

She also launched the Doll Mom podcast during her senior year of high school, using it as a space for longer conversations about creativity, identity and shared interests.

That authenticity eventually caught the attention of national brands like Target and Disney in 2022. Having companies she grew up with and respected value her work was both exciting and affirming.

“I didn’t want to sound like a salesperson. I wanted it to feel real,” said Grant, a Nixa native.

That authenticity became her signature and the reason brands continued to trust her creative voice.

As she kept creating, her desire to better understand the strategy behind it grew. Grant started studying at Ozarks Technical Community College in fall 2022 before transferring to Missouri State in fall 2024. Her decision to pursue a management and leadership major was influenced by both her creative experience and her interest in how organizations grow.

Learning to pair creativity with strategy

While her audience increased online, Grant was also gaining knowledge and skills in the classroom. She found that her coursework often mirrored what she was already doing outside of class.

Courses in digital and social media marketing helped her better understand platforms, trends and audience engagement. They also gave her language for work she had been doing intuitively.

“Being in those classes made me realize I was already living the examples we were studying,” Grant said. “They gave me confidence to see my work as more than just a hobby.”

Rather than separating creativity from her coursework, Grant learned to see them as connected. Classroom frameworks gave her structure, while real-world experience helped her speak with confidence in academic discussions.

What comes next

Looking ahead, Grant hopes to work for Mattel, the parent company of American Girl. Her goal is not just to work in marketing, but to help guide the storytelling of a brand that influenced her childhood.

While she plans to continue creating, her focus remains grounded in connection rather than metrics.

“One of the most meaningful things is hearing from people who say my content helped them feel less embarrassed about loving something,” she said.

She believes that creative direction rarely arrives fully formed. It develops through action, exploration and patience.

“You don’t have to have everything figured out,” Grant said. “Start with what you love and let yourself learn as you go.”

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