When I told my parents that I was going to be a communication studies major, they asked a question that I would imagine some of my fellow communication studies majors have also hailed: “What will you do with that degree once you graduate?” On the evening of February 5th, University of Portland’s Communication Honors Society, Lambda Eta Pi, and the Office of Career Services sponsored a panel of UP communication studies alumni, who came with answers to this question and to speak with students about their careers in the field of communication.
The panelists were Alysse Kerr, Class of ʽ10 and Training & Communication Coordinator at Mercy Corps Northwest; Alex Kirk, Class of ʽ09 and Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Clark College; Kaeti Namba, Class of ʽ12 and Grant & Communication Coordinator at NAYA Family Center; and Chelsea Hossaini, Class of ʽ10 and NW Region Communications Manager at Intel; all of whom graduated from UP within the last five years. There were a wide variety of career paths amongst these professionals and each expressed passion, both explicitly and implicitly, for their work.
“Showing passion and commitment is a really big deal,” Namba said.
More than anything, the panelists stressed the fact that the University of Portland really prepared each of them for their careers and encouraged students to take full advantage of classes, professors, and other UP resources with this in mind. They cited skills like understanding research methods, group work, and public speaking as learning gained through UP that is now intrinsic to their everyday, professional lives.
Caption: UP students work hard toward a variety of future paths.
Namba was a graduate student at UP and said that she took a liking to the professors in the communication studies department during her time here. “The words that they say actually transcend into life lessons,” Namba said.
Internships and networking were other focuses of the evening.
“My internships were the best thing that could have ever happened to me… Tell people like a broken record what you want to do, let them know you’re excited,” Hossaini said.
University of Portland’s Office of Career Services works with students to find and attain internships. The panelists also suggested doing informational interviews as a way of networking and opening doors to possible career opportunities.
“Two things that helped me were: 1. Networking. The majority of people like talking about themselves, so ask for informational interviews; 2. When you do an interview, do a lot of work beforehand and then go into an interview and just relax,” Kirk said.
Students were left with some encouraging words, as the panelists reminded them that when a student or recent graduate goes into a job interview, they are, in fact, worth something to that company.
“Be picky about who you work for!” Kerr said, “They better be awesome people that you enjoy working for and can trust.”
Story by Clare Duffy