Alumni News

Young, Successful and Paying it Forward

Recent grads share hurdles, victories, and advice on finding a job in a tough economy

On January 9, 2012, the Communication Alumni Board, in partnership with the Department of Communication, kicks off Professional Development Month. True to our mission to provide meaningful experiences outside the classroom, we are offering students four weeks of programming that addresses real-life issues they will face when they graduate.

Alumni board President Edgar Gonzalez (BA, 2004) shares his thoughts on the month’s activities:

Professional Development Month is one example of our work to achieve our mission of mentoring, supporting and connecting students and alumni.  The education they get in the classroom is fantastic and prepares them for varied careers. Our job, as we see it, is to share our experiences and perspectives regarding the breadth of possibilities in the "real" world as well as equip them with the practical tools they will need to manage a successful job search — especially in this difficult economy. We work to bridge the gap between their academic and student life and their professional life.

The Communication Alumni Board’s efforts are impressive. They are bringing a network of dozens of professionals working in public relations, journalism, corporate communications, nonprofit, education, new media, and more to share advice with Communication students. The board is made up of 12 alumni and one Communication undergraduate. See the entire roster here.

Half of the board members graduated less than 10 years ago, but their combined successes would seem to belong to alumni with many more years of experience. They join a group of recent grads we would like to highlight for their success in surviving and thriving in a tough economy. This list is by no means comprehensive; Communication alumni consistently achieve excellence in their work and civic engagement. We would like to introduce you to a few of them:

Lucas Mack, 2004

Lucas is Principal at 4th Avenue Media. Before starting his own business, he was a TV reporter paying his dues in smaller markets in Washington, Texas and other states. He returned to Seattle with a dream three years ago and soon became a success in a very competitive field.

Lucas shares his biggest hurdle on his career path:

After leaving the news room and starting 4th Avenue Media, selling the concept to established businesses was the toughest part. Since we were in a field where the competition had been around for quite a while, setting ourselves apart was challenging, but ultimately we were successful and have been creating amazing work for clients since 2008.

Lucas continues to give back to Communication students. He helped judge an annual public speaking competition and participated in Communication Professional Development events in 2010 and in last January’s programming. He is back again in January teaching a class and kicking off our a pilot job shadow program.

Whitney Tyner Curry, 2008

Whitney landed her dream job right out of college, but she worked hard to get there. She started at zillow.com as an intern and made a strong impression on her colleagues. Upon graduation, she was offered a fulltime job at zillow.com, but she already had a bought and paid for a post-graduation, trip abroad. A dilemma for sure, but one that Whitney met with confidence and professionalism. She knew her hard work as an intern would help her cause and knew she would continue to make a difference at her job. She negotiated her hiring terms, took the trip, and started at zillow.com when she was back in the States. Whitney is now a Senior Public Relations Specialist and hiring manager, giving her the opportunity to pay it forward to excellent job candidates and employees. Whitney says that “excellent candidates get the exceptions made for them.” Her advice to new alumni: “Make yourself attractive and desirable for the job.” And an important piece advice from Whitney is to create an online presence and if you claim to be a social media expert, please “send more than one tweet.” Whitney will join a workshop during Professional Development Month next January.

Derek Belt, 2004, 2011

Derek Belt is a Sr. Account Executive for Seattle social media agency Banyan Branch, building digital strategies and leading online campaigns for some of the most respected brands in the world. Derek wrote for The Daily and started his career as a sports reporter, but as the industry changed he returned to school and earned a Master of Communication in Digital Media (MCDM). He worked at the University of Washington Alumni Association for three years, managing the day-to-day social media strategies, email campaigns, online alumni relations and development efforts for one of the nation's largest alumni groups. Derek freelances for the Seattle Times and Columns magazine. Derek recently hosted a mentor lunch for the Department and talked to students about career strategies. He has added his name to the list of participants in Professional Development Month, 2012.

I don't think I would say I entered journalism at the worst possible time. In hindsight, that may have been true. But when I graduated in 2004 everything about the newspaper business seemed fine; at least that's what we were being told. Regardless, I scored a job working high school sports for the Mobile Press-Register in Mobile, Ala. If you have to go somewhere to cover high school football for a few years, it might as well be a place that worships high school football. I did some great work down there, soaked up the sun on the Gulf of Mexico, and covered everything from SEC college football to Mardi Gras. My decision to leave the paper was about living in Seattle. I missed it here, and I realized my job was just that, a job. So I put my two weeks' notice in and came back to Seattle.

Six months later I was working at the UW and being paid to wear purple on Fridays. It was a pretty amazing transition. Six months after that I was back in grad school. I never truly left the newspaper business, as I still freelance for the Seattle Times. But now I do it on my own terms and I do it because I love it. I have a career elsewhere, and newspapers are merely my passion.

My work at the UW benefitted greatly from my MCDM experience. I would read books on the bus and take notes in the margins, then get to work and try my ideas out. All of our class discussions, all of our coursework, it made me a much better employee. That, of course, led to my new role as a Senior Account Executive at Banyan Branch, a leading social media agency located in downtown Seattle.

I think it's important for Communication undergrads to see that our paths are not set. I wanted to be a newspaper reporter. I did it, and I did it well. But now I work in digital media and am teaching some of the world's largest companies how to leverage social media to sell more products and raise brand awareness. I wouldn't be nearly as successful if it wasn't for my time as a journalist. It made me who I am. The ability to talk to people, to write well, to meet deadlines, and to build relationships — those are critical aspects of any work environment.

Things change, jobs come and go. But that's OK. It's important to try new things and to keep all your options open. Because through it all, our skills as journalists are ever-present. They will allow you to be successful. I knew when I left Alabama that I would be good at whatever it was I found to do, and I was right. I had confidence because I knew the skills I had. That's what the UW gave me. That's why I want to give back to students.

Kaci Aitchison, 2001

Kaci turned a one-time project at Q13 Fox into a job as one of the morning anchors. Her on-air day starts at 4:30 a.m. and then she heads out for field reporting from 7 to 10 a.m.

The biggest hurdle I faced after graduating actually came several years later, when I was ready to make a career change. I was lucky — by the time I graduated, I had worked through an internship at 106.1 KISS-FM that had turned into a full-time, on-air gig. I absolutely loved it, but deep down had no idea what my career goal was. Did I want to host my own show? Move behind the scenes? Change markets? I had always wanted to work in TV as well, but could I really do it?

I decided that while I was busy doubting myself, I may as well keep moving forward, which is the best lesson I ever learned. You DON'T EVER need to have it all figured out. You just need to work really hard and keep your eye on what it is you love doing … and keep at it. You never know exactly what kinds of opportunities will present themselves while you’re busy worrying about them, so take notice!

That mindset took me (self-doubting all along the way!) through every shift imaginable at both KISS and later on The Bob Rivers morning show. I still wanted to do TV, but everyone said I was nuts to think I could transition from radio in this market. I should point out that many individuals WERE supportive, but the voices of “you need to start in a smaller market” and “most people who break into TV start right after college — you missed your chance” dominated my thinking. But I figured while I was doubting, I may as well give it a try.

It was the great Lucas Mack, actually, who helped me make my first TV demo tape, and I sent it to every station in town (the guy at the post office actually took to saying “trying again, are we?” when I went in). A couple of people around town actually laughed me off the phone when I called. So I started sending it to different people at each station — then emailing managers directly. I think it was my husband who gave me this piece of advice that really kept me going: Don’t let the initial rejections get you down, because out of all those resumes and tapes you’re sending out, all it takes is ONE person to see in you what you see in yourself.

Keep an open mind — your path to your dream job may not look the way you thought it would... or the way others told you it would. As it turns out, the radio path many had told me would take me far from TV is what got me my job in TV. Some of my co-workers at Q13 FOX listened to The Bob Rivers Show and thought I might be a good fit for a one-time project they had at the station. Three years later, I'm anchoring and reporting features on their morning show — and I pinch myself every day that I get to do what I love in Seattle.

Kaci has hosted a mentor lunch for the Department and served as a judge at our annual public speaking competition.

Stephany Rochon, 2006

Stephany recently started at Barokas Public Relations as an Account Manager. Stephany is a social media and PR star and knows how to network. When asked how she navigated such a successful career path after landing hard in the middle of a bleak job market, she replied: 

"Network, network network! Every job that I've landed since graduating from the University of Washington started with a referral from a colleague already established in the PR industry. Despite the tough economy I've had several job offers come my way, one even via Facebook from an old client who left a large tech company to lead PR and marketing at a hot startup in Silicon Valley. While the job market may be lean, if you do great work others around you notice and will open doors to further opportunities."

Stephany continues to partner with the Department as a participant in our Professional Development events.

Meghan Peters, 2008

Meghan joined Mashable in New York City as Community Manager in September 2010. Straight out of college she worked as a web producer at The Seattle Times and managing editor of Microsoft’s JobsBlog. Although she has written for The Huffington Post, China Daily, The Seattle Times, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and Seattle Weekly, that pedigree did not get her a job in print journalism. By the time she graduated, there were no jobs in print journalism. Instead of leaving the field, Meghan set out to redefine herself as a journalist and entered the brand new arena of social media journalism. She is self-taught because she had the passion, enthusiasm, and confidence to learn.

There were no classes in social media or digital journalism when she was a student at the UW. She worked for The Daily and sourced stories through her Facebook connections, but that was as close as she came to gaining applicable work experience. She gained experience on her own through research — she read everything she could find on digital journalism and social media — and networked at every opportunity. Her strategy turned out to help her job search efforts. Meghan and her Mashable colleagues constantly reach out to social media sites for stories.  

Meghan wants to tell young alumni to have the confidence to go after what they want and to not be scared that there are no jobs. She feels that young people often have an advantage in this work climate if they are willing to take entry-level employment, are willing to relocate, and can tap into the early training they had on computers. “Once you get that job,” says Meghan, “It is important to use that opportunity to prove yourself and succeed. Believe in yourself, even when people tell you that you are too young." Meghan participated in our Professional Development programming last January. She used Skype to participate in a panel discussion on Managing Your Digital Footprint.