Communication Career Panel: Advice & Major Themes

By: Morgan Jacobus, Editor in Chief

In case you missed it, there was a communication career panel with Regis alumni last Wednesday April 7. There was a lot to learn from these panelists, who all took different paths after graduation and each had a unique perspective to offer. Though there is a plentitude of advice that current communication students can learn from, they also offered plenty of practical advice, even for people who are not majoring in communication. From internships and mentors to the skills they learned and wished they had learned, here are the highlights from the panel. 

First, let’s introduce the panelists. The panel was composed of five alumni: Nikolas Gatan, Mikaela Meyer, Zoey Sweeny, McKenna Solomon, and Ariana Badran. Gatan graduated in 2015, and now does sales and client relationships for Sphero, a STEM education company in Colorado. Meyer graduated in 2017, has graduated law school, and is currently working for a judge. Sweeny graduated in 2019, has PR/ marketing/ advertising experience and works in client relationships. Solomon graduated in 2017 and is the current social media strategist and marketing writer at Regis. Badran graduated with a dual major in Communication and Peace and Justice and is the assistant shelter manager at The Dolores Project in Denver. 

The Path After Graduation

One of the prominent themes at the beginning of the panel was post-graduation, and what their choices were. It can be intimidating trying to find where your path will go after graduation, and there can be a lot of pressure to find a job right after graduation. However, these alumni stressed that you shouldn’t rush into something, especially if it isn’t the right fit. Be patient, and spend the time finding the right fit. 

“The best thing was to wait for that perfect job and just being patient in finding the right career… Look for the right job because at the end of the day you are going to be so much happier,” said Gatan. 

“Don’t feel like you need to make a life changing decision right after graduation,” said Meyer, who jumped into law school after graduating from Regis, but found that most of her classmates in graduate school took some time in between. 

Further, don’t get discouraged when you don’t get the job you want right away. Some things take time. 

“Things work out in the end. Don’t give up if you don’t get the job you are looking for right away, don’t give up if you get rejected 500 times because it may just happen that the perfect job for you is out there and it is just weird timing. Don’t give up on yourself no matter what you hear from other people or how discouraged you may feel,” said Meyer. 

Things can change, and you have a lot of options at your disposal. Find what works best for you and know that you are not stuck in whatever you choose. 

“Something I didn’t realize is that there is a lot of room to change. You are not on one track forever and as you go up go have some flexibility,” said Sweeny. 

“The thing I liked most about communication… [and] careers in communication is that it is really diverse, you can do a lot with it. My future is nebulous, I don’t really know what I want to do… but the future is whatever I decide, you don’t have to have an answer. It is okay,” said Solomon. 

Networking, mentorships, and internships

The next theme among the responses was related to networking, mentors, and internships, which are all interconnected. In communication, who you know is important, and your network plays a big role. Something each alumnus mentioned at least once was the importance of building and maintaining a network. 

“I think that the one thing I have really learned through my early beginnings of my career is that your network is your most valuable tool,” said Meyer. 

“It is really important to make those connections and keep those connections alive. I still talk to all of my internship supervisors. It is a really helpful relationship you can build because they can provide advice to you. I reach out for advice all the time, so definitely connect with those people, keep them in mind every day of your life,” said Solomon. 

A mentor is something else that can help you while you are on your path and can play a big role in your life as a whole. The alumni recommend finding someone who is trustworthy, honest, compassionate, and will have your best interest in mind, both on a professional and a personal level. 

“My mentor from [my DC internship] is one of my strongest motivators. He is the person I go to with all my questions. I literally called him a week ago. One of the things that I think is undersold is just how close you can become with these people personally. My boss just got married this summer, he invited 16 people to his wedding, and I was one of those 16 people,” said Meyer. “Don’t just look for somebody who is going to be your yes man, they should be your cheerleader but there is a difference between somebody who is saying what you want to hear rather than what you need to hear,” Meyer continued. 

Your network plays a role when you are searching for internships, something that each communication major is required to have at least one of. Many of the alumni emphasized putting yourself out there as a strategy to get an internship. 

“If I could go back and do it again, I would connect with as many people as I could on LinkedIn. Internships aren’t always posted on the websites and it is just word of mouth. Put yourself out there with your network and building your network. Connect with people and ask around,” said Gatan. 

“Use your network that you already have, don’t be afraid to look online, search through websites, but also tell people that you are looking. I found mine because someone else dropped out of an internship and he was friends with my cousin. Telling people and being really transparent and being top of mind,” said Sweeny. 

Though it is a requirement for a communication degree, there is a lot you can gain from whatever internship you pursue. 

“Some of my biggest takeaways are learning what I do and don’t like out of a work environment and a work culture. I think that is really valuable… they can definitely be impactful for your career path for sure,” said Badran. 

In addition to a strong network, the panel also offered other advice for how to find a good internship, including some helpful websites. Solomon recommended Andrew Hudson’s Job List as a good place to look, particularly for marketing or communication related internships. However, don’t underestimate the value of a good old-fashioned internet search. 

“I definitely found my first internship online just googling around on one of those generic sites. Don’t be embarrassed where you are getting the information from, just look all over the place. Keep your eyes and ears open and something will pop up,” said Meyer. 

“Look at the organizations you want to work for and check their websites religiously, that is how I got my internship at Cactus. Think about where you want to work and stalk their websites. It’s okay, they need the traffic anyway,” said Solomon. 

“Sometimes people don’t post things at all. If you have your resume already made you can just send it out to places you are interested in working for,” said Badran, who has hired interns this way. 

Skills you get from college, and skills you don’t 

Another topic that was discussed was skills they acquired while at Regis, and some skills they had to learn once they entered the workforce. Though there are some things you will have to learn at that point, there are many valuable things they have learned that they attributed to Regis and the communication department specifically. 

“Being able to take those skills from your presentations and group projects, learning to work with people I think is something that the communication department really encouraged us to do. Life is the group project; you are rarely working by yourself. I would encourage you to not forget the life skills you are taking from those and realizing that they really will be impactful and important in your career no matter what career you should choose to do,” said Meyer. 

The skills you learn in college can take you far, so don’t underestimate them. 

“Communication is so universal… everywhere you go you are going to need to be able to talk to people… so definitely take those interpersonal skills you [learn] and all the group projects that I know you guys are doing and take that to heart because it doesn’t change, you still have to work with people constantly,” said Badran.

“A lot of the skills you learn in communication is easily transferable. Utilizing those core skills: talking, writing, interpersonal communication; all of those things and being able to utilize them in different capacities will really help you wherever you go,” said Sweeny. 

So, focus in and hone in on the skills you are building now, and don’t take them for granted. Capitalize on what you are building towards while you are still in college, especially with writing. Writing. Is. So. Important. You may not realize it, but as you go through your classes you are building skills that many people will be lacking in the workforce and can come to your advantage. 

“Being in the communication arena you take for granted some of those skills that seem pretty simple – just like verbal written communication, and then you get into the workforce and you realize that a lot of people don’t have those skills. Working on those and honing those in will get you very far and are super important,” said Badran.

“Communication does a really nice job of exposing you to what I think is the hardest part of writing: writing very clearly, persuasively, and succinctly I think is very transferable to multiple arenas of careers. In my life that has been so true, it is what I do every day,” said Meyer. 

“Don’t underestimate good writing, a good email, a good cover letter, resume, all that stuff really goes a long way,” said Sweeny. 

Though Regis does a good job of trying to prepare you for the “real world,” don’t underestimate the value of an outside educational source, like webinars or Coursera. Gatan and Solomon discussed how they learned some helpful skills for their jobs in webinars, and they advise taking advantage of those opportunities. Whether it is search engine optimization or learning a business system, seek educational sources like webinars to further build your skillset. 

But at the end of the day, there are things you will have to learn and adapt to. 

“There are certain parts of certain work environments that just can’t be replicated in the classroom… Something I have had to hone in on are just verbal communication skills, giving feedback, asking for feedback, setting boundaries, managing crisis situations, so I think you can’t really learn that until you are in the position and someone is asking you for help or you just have to jump in. [I learned] a lot by making mistakes and watching what other people are doing,” said Badran. 

“One advice I would give is something someone told me, which is fail hard and fail fast. Just dive in, it is okay to fail. Not everyone knows what they are doing and as long as you try… people are looking for students or employees that are coachable and teachable and will take feedback that aren’t afraid to dive in. You can be as prepared as you want but every job is going to throw a curveball,” said Sweeny. 

General good advice 

Lastly, there is just some good advice for life that I personally appreciated. For instance, something that was discussed were things that you should appreciate while in college, because you are going to miss it. 

“Now I don’t have a Christmas break or spring break or things like that. There is no end in sight to some extent with work, and that is a big just personal adjustment,” said Badran. 

“Make time for friends outside of work. In college it was so easy, but people’s schedules become busier. That was one thing for me was having to become more organized, my friends aren’t on the same schedule as I am so definitely enjoy the time in college to spend time with friends,” said Gatan. 

Sometimes you just need a little encouragement and advice from someone who has been there. For example, something that may not seem as important but makes a difference is taking breaks for yourself. 

“The most important thing to do for yourself in those first couple of months is to take your lunch. It seems small and insignificant but take that full hour or however much time they will allot you. Take those breaks and enjoy them because that is going to be your nuggets of sanity,” said Solomon. 

At the end of the day, keep that passion alive amidst the struggle and drudgery of venturing out into the workforce. 

“You absolutely need to keep in mind what it is that kept you going, why did you choose this career path to begin with, finding that nugget of passion that you have whatever that ends up being and holding onto that. Keeping in mind that the end goal, which should be to live that passion. Don’t forget what made you fall in love with certain jobs or certain aspects and try to follow your career path in ways that let you live that happiness every day,” said Meyer. 

International Happiness Day: Finding your path

(Photo: Emily Schneider)

By: Alyssa Gomez, Staff Reporter

As a part of International Happiness Day on March 20, the Communication Department, along with Dean John Hickey, welcomed one of the most amazing speakers to Regis! Dr. Amy Lopez is a Regis graduate who obtained her degree in social work and soon after, decided to go on a journey to find exactly what makes her truly happy.

During this happiness seminar, students learned new things about happiness, things that no one really thinks about on a daily basis. For example Lopez told students that you do not need to find your fulfillment through your job, you can find your happiness through other things and people. Relationships are one of the building blocks of happiness and it such a great joy in life to cultivate and build those relationships. Additionally, students and staff learned that happiness truly beings and ends with a change in mindset.

She revealed to the audience that in her recent study about happiness that people who are naturally happy tell themselves every day that “it’s going to be okay” and people who are unhappy talk negatively to themselves and may say that “it’s going to be okay” but do not necessarily believe it. We realized the importance of speaking kindly to ourselves and pointing out amazing things about ourselves and not the things we are uncomfortable with.

Dr. Lopez made those in attendance stop and think about what truly makes them happy and had them attempt to define what they happiness really feels like. She stated that you should take what you know what makes you happy and try to promote it in your life and do more of it. As groups, she had the attendees actually sat down and charted out what makes us happy. Activities like hiking, being with family, or travel. They all charted out the amount of time and actually set aside time to do that activity and promise to do more of because we all deserve to be truly happy and do the things we love.

Dr. Lopez made it so clear that although it is fun to do something new every day, it is also equally as important to take time for yourself to just do nothing. Especially in regards to our hectic lives as college students. This was such an amazing seminar that truly made us think about how to bring more happiness and light into our lives and how important it is to have our busy lives but not forget to focus on ourselves as to not get lost in the crazy world we exist in.  

Humans of Regis: Dr. Susan Sci

(Photo: Emily Schneider)

By: Samantha Jewell, Social Media Editor

What brought you to Regis University?

Well, my first time that I ever taught here it was because Dr. Arne G’Schwind was going on sabbatical and he was teaching a class on Media Aesthetics that we still teach now. The department at the time did not have anybody to teach it, so a close friend of mine and Arne’s, Dr. Brian Ott suggested me to Arne and the department and Rob was like, “Oh yeah I know Susan!” And the rest is history, I have been here ever since that class! I adjuncted for about two years, and then I was a full-time instructor for four years, and now I am on the tenure track.

How did you get into the field of communications / studying public memory?

So, what got me into the field of communications is a little different than public memory. What got me into communications was an incredible teacher at Queens College who taught an introduction to interpersonal communication. I took this class and well it was one of those classes that I think a lot of students can relate to, I had to go! It was not because there was an attendance policy, it was not because of anything it was because I wanted to talk about exactly what we were talking about in class every single time. So, I was excited to go to class, and I was like, “Oh my God! The world finally makes sense because of this class”. It was also because he was also kind of a nut job and he was the most unconventional teacher I have ever known, and that made learning exciting. What made me study public memory is a much longer story but what I can say is this, is that all my life I have been fascinated with questions of memory and issues of what we remember and what we don’t because of the difficulties of my own personal life and my mother being bipolar and when she was institutionalized when I was a child, my siblings and I have forgotten that whole portion of our history, and it was something that we never talked about growing up and so I always knew there was something significant about memory in terms of identity. When I got to Colorado State for my masters, and I started to read the emerging literature of public memory and public history I was like, “AHHHHH! It all makes sense now!!” Ever since then I have been fascinated with this area of research.

What do you like to do outside of teaching?

Well, okay, one of my favorite things is, I have a young daughter she is two and a half, her name is Amelia, so there is a lot of playing with play-doh, and building sandcastles in our back year. But, in terms for me for fun, it probably won’t shock you that even for fun I am like, let's go to the museum that sounds like a great time!! So every year on my birthday my husband and I go to the museum, he is like, “it's your birthday!! Time to go to the museum!!” On a more like frequent basis, I go to the gym, and the gym for me is an excellent way for me to find community. I go to barre class, I go to random courses all over the city which is kind of weird, but I have my barre class, I have my spin class, and my boot camp class. I have friends in all those spaces which I love. I love movies; I love pop culture, I teach pop culture too, I love going hiking. I love just sitting around and going shopping. One of my most favorite things, I love going to the thrift store and finding things that I couldn’t see anywhere else. All of my clothes come from the thrift store! Everything I wear always comes from the thrift store because I love it and it’s soothing.

Who is the most influential person in your academic career?

In my academic life, there is a scholar by the name of Carole Blair, and she is currently the president of the National Communication Association, and she has written about public memory. Blair was the first author of public memory that I had ever read. Carole is a redhead too, and she is at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill https://comm.unc.edu/people/department-faculty/carole-blair/ and she is a friend and she motivates me, inspires me all the time. Everything that she writes, everything that she does, the passion for what she does never cease to amaze me. She never seems to get bored, and I love that, but she also has unquestionably been the reason why I push myself because she got easily rest on her laurels, but her work is consistently innovated, consistently questioning. That is the kind of scholar I want to be.

What is your favorite Jesuit Value? Why?

I would have to say Contemplatives in Action; we can think lots of things, everybody has lots of thoughts. Last week Time Wise was here, and he was giving a unique presentation about race in America. One of his central premises was about how we need not just to think things about race, but we have to do them. I am privileged; I am middle class, I am white, I am sitting here at an excellent institution where I have a great job. Because I am white I do not often have to think about race; I especially don’t have to think about what it means to be white. But, if I don’t put what I think about race into action then I do nothing. It does not matter what my thoughts are about how imperfect our racial system is in America if I am not doing anything about it, then I am not helping. So, unless I am putting my beliefs into belief and action, then it is no good. So, for me, that is more important than all the others because otherwise we are just going to consistently be in a position as humans to blame other people or be unhappy with situations but never empower ourselves or being empowered enough to make the change.

Is there anything else you would like to leave with the Regis Community?

What I would really like the Regis Community to know is that learning is not a thing that we do in any one place and that if you have actually learned anything at Regis I hope that it is that our lessons are not meant to be housed within any institution or any space, but they are intended to cultivate a way of questioning that will be with you forever. So, we don’t want to teach you knowledge we want to teach you a way to think and that that way of thinking about any method of one thing but the way of questioning and now a skeptical examination, not housed in anger but a questioning housed in curiosity, a questioning housed in an attempt to make things better than what we know. That as we liked to say in this country, “creating a perfect union.” That was creating a perfect union in the United States means that we have to be willing to let learning happen throughout our entire lives no matter where we are.

Humans of Regis: John Hickey

(Photo courtesy of KRCX)

What brought you to Regis?

I have been here since I started at Regis in 1989. I was just married to my wife who is from New York, her parents had moved out here when she was in college so we had come out a couple times and when we got married we knew we wanted to eventually move out to Colorado. So when we got married we figured that was the time to do it when everything was new. When I came out I didn’t know that Regis existed. I worked in colleges back in New York and I looked at what colleges were around here. Neither one of us had jobs when we came out here. I saw that Regis was here and that Regis was the only Catholic college in the entire region. In New York there are Catholic colleges everywhere so it was just like I have got to get in there. It took a year, but a year later I ended up getting the job.

What is your favorite Jesuit Value? Why?

I think that my favorite Jesuit Value would be Cura Personalis. I have always been a believer in sort of a holistic approach to life. You have to take care of your intellectual self, your emotional self and your spiritual self. So that has always just resonated with me and its also you know working with students it is a natural one. You get to know students in the classroom and outside of the classroom. That is the one that resonates with me the most.

Tell us about your position as Associate Dean.

I am one of two Associate Deans in the college; we have one Dean so we are a rather small office, which means we do everything. I liken it to keeping the wheels rolling. We have to make sure that we have classes, make sure we have faculty, and make sure the semester goes through. It is good. It is a busy job. In this office there is an awful lot of traffic. People are constantly coming in asking questions so I spend a lot of my time answering questions and solving problems, but again, we are a tight office. We have a great staff in the dean’s office. It is a fun place to work.

What has been your best memory while at Regis?

I think one of the things I am most proud of at my time here at Regis has been having KRCX’s music playing outside of the student center. There is nothing better than walking across the quad and hearing a song that you particularly like. I have been KRCX’s advisor for a bunch of years and when I first started here they did not have that music playing out on the quad so I think that is one of the things I am most proud of. It just feels right to hear music across the quad.

Is there anything else you would like the Regis community to know?

I think we have got a really special place here at Regis. It doesn't happen without a lot of people working. Especially in times like this where there is a lot of division. I think it is nice to recognize what we have here at Regis. We need to work to make it even better because I am not saying it is perfect. We have a lot of issues just like everywhere has issues. It goes back to that Cura Personalis. A lot of the people who work here, faculty, staff, they really care about what happens. They care about their students so I think that’s really nice to see and be a part of. And figuring out, alright how do we work through it as a community. How do we work through our challenging difficult times as a community?

Samantha Jewell Social Media Editor

A Conversation on Our Changing Community

(Photo: Will Tracey)

               “What we want to do tonight is take a conversation that’s happening outside of our campus but also inside our classrooms. We also know it is affecting the daily lives, everyday experiences and work experiences of many people as well. Some of us call this gentrification, some of this call this community change, some of us call this the status quo. Whatever the case is, there is a changing nature in our community; there are changing buildings and changing experiences.”

               These were the opening remarks of debate coach and Jon Denzler during “Our Changing Community,” a conversation on gentrification sponsored by The Institute of the Common Good, The Regis University Debate Team, and the Regis University Communications Department on April 4th in the Mountain View Room. Over fifty gathered to hear the reflections of five panelists made of up Berkeley-Regis neighborhood residents. The panelists were Stephanie Navarette, Kristen Barnes, Klaus Holzapfel, Niya Gingrich and Dennis Gallagher.  

               The first questions posed to the panel were, “What have been the most visible changes you’ve seen in the community, and what have been the most invisible changes?”

               Stephanie Navarette, a local renter, and mother of one stated, “I think the most visible change for anyone and everyone in the neighborhood would probably be the buildings and the homes on the blocks. You see a lot of them that are not like the others. My grandparents’ business is gone. That’s the most visible change, I feel.”

               As for an invisible change in the neighborhood, Niya Gingrich, the owner of Local 46 Bar on Tennyson Street stated, “I think this may be invisible to a lot of people, but there’s this push-pull relationship between the growth of the business community and the residential. As a business association, that’s one of the main things we’ve been focusing on, on how we can be delicate with that. And how we can be respectful of a small business community to the residents, and how we can work together.”

               Next, the conversation opened up to a question and answer portion with the audience. Questions ranged from, “What are perceptions about the community that are an issue here?” to “How should people impacted by gentrification support the local business that has been damaging to the culture of the community?”

               When one student posed the question, “Do any of you worry that you may be displaced?” one panelist shared, “I wake up every day worried that I won’t be able to stay in the school district that my son is in. Every day.  For my landlord, it’s not an if, it’s a when is she going to raise my rent so that I can’t afford it by myself because I’m a single parent. It’s a when she’s going to sell her property and have new landlords take it over [. . .] I look at rents, and you can’t get a one bedroom for less than a thousand dollars in this neighborhood. So it’s definitely an everyday fear.”

               Overall, much of the evening’s discussion centered on how our community can break down barriers with one another through interaction, and how we can navigate the complex questions that community change brings with it.

For more information on neighborhood issues, visit:

http://www.berkeleyregisneighbors.org/

Maggie Lacey Staff Reporter