Category Archives: Alumni News

Brittany Berger: Fellow Blue Hen, Proud Communication Alum, and eZanga’s Content Marketing Coordinator

Posted on by

 

As a Department, we love to hear from alumni; as communicators, we are story tellers. What’s the best way to combine the two? Interview the alumni! Our first alum we interviewed is Brittany Berger, a proud Communication graduate from the Class of 2012. Read on to learn more about Brittany’s experience, how the Communication major helped her land a job at eZanga, and what advice she has for current Communication students.

———-

What year did you graduate from the University of Delaware?

I graduated from the University of Delaware in May 2012. In addition to majoring in Mass Communication, I minored in Interactive Media and English.

Where are you currently employed?

I’m currently employed as the Content Marketing Coordinator at eZanga.com, an online advertising company in Middletown, Delaware.

What are some of your every day responsibilities? ezanga

My job is to plan, manage, and execute all of eZanga’s content marketing, from email marketing to our company’s marketing blog and social media channels. Most of my time is spent developing our editorial calendars, writing and promoting content, measuring the success of said content, and coordinating with guest contributors and other sites that I contribute content for myself. I also assist with other marketing and public relations duties, so from time to time I’ll put aside those tasks to write press releases, pitch stories to journalists, apply for business awards on the company’s behalf, and work with the CEO on getting the company’s name out there.

What is one thing someone would be surprised to know about you?

Most people (that don’t know me, at least) would be surprised that I have a crazy tendency that my friends call “IMDB Brain.” Way too much of my brain is filled with who guest starred on what show, which 1950’s actor had a cameo in that new movie, and what TV show that stranger over in the corner just quoted. On top of all that, I truly and honestly can’t remember the last time I went an entire day without quoting a sitcom.

How did the University of Delaware prepare you for the workforce?

I was involved with a lot of RSOs at UD, and I feel like getting such a variety of experience outside of class prepared me really well. You might learn about something in a class, but it’s a really different feeling to be part of a team where you’re the one held accountable for doing it, and you may be the only one who knows how to do so. The speakers at PRSSA meetings also prepared me specifically for what it was like to have a career in public relations and marketing, and taught me about social media back when there weren’t many professors talking about it in my classes.

From one Blue Hen to another, do you have any advice for current Communication students?

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but build the heck out of your personal brand! One of the first things my previous supervisor said to me when I interviewed with eZanga was how impressed she was with my personal blog. Starting my sophomore year and through to the present, I’m active on as many websites and social networks as possible and don’t post anything I wouldn’t want my coworkers or peer to see. But I still have fun and show people what my personality and hobbies are like.

During the day, you’ll find most of my tweets are career-oriented. At night, you’ll find me tweeting back and forth with my friends, talking about television, music, etc. I’ve always tried my hardest to show my entire personality to anyone who could find me online, whether that may be a new friend or a potential employer. Ideally, you want to be able to have someone Google your name and be proud of the “version of yourself” shown on every single one of those blue links on the first page of results.

Will you be attending Alumni Weekend 2014 (#UDCOMM40)? 

I’m going to try my hardest to attend Alumni Weekend! My extended family usually gets together for a barbeque at the end of May or early June, and I’m hoping they don’t overlap like they have before. Other than that, I live about three miles from campus, so I really have no other excuse not to be there!

brittany berger

——————–

‘Like’ The Department of Communication on Facebook

Celebrating 40 years as a Department.                                                                        Join the conversation with the hash-tag: #UDCOMM40

COMM ’06 Grad Takes Persuasion Skills to Food Bank of Delaware

Posted on by

— Bobby Schrader, ’13

101cropEvery semester, COMM 309 Introduction to Public Relations completes a media release project, where students practice their media relations skills with a local organization or company, who serves as the class “client.” For the 2012-2013 academic year, the Food Bank of Delaware has served as the client. Kim Turner, a 2006 graduate of the Department of Communication, serves as the food bank’s communications director.

Turner manages all media relations for the organization. Anytime the organization wants to pitch a story to a newspaper or to a media outlet, it falls under Turner’s department. She also manages the food bank’s numerous social media outlets and the organization’s website, including updates, writing blogs and anything that involves communicating their message to the public, she says.

“It’s different every day,” Turner says. “You think you’re going to go in and you’re just gonna have an easy day or you’re going to go by the schedule of the day, and then a reporter calls and wants to do a story.”

When Turner first started at the Food Bank of Delaware in 2008, she says food banking was popular within the media. A lot of families were experiencing hunger for the first time, she says, so there was a lot of media attention surrounding the issue. In her first few days, she says she was getting multiple interview requests.

Turner says her favorite part of her job involves knowing that she works in an organization where they know they make an impact in the community. The food bank helps one in four Delawareans.

“It’s nice to make the community aware of the need and that ultimately helps people who don’t have the resources to purchase enough food for their family,” Turner says.

In high school, Turner worked on the school yearbook, which she says added to her interest in working in the communications field. Turner says since some of her strongest skills included writing and speaking, communications seemed to fit.

Before her position as communications director, Turner served as the programs and communications specialist at the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. She started at the Food Bank of Delaware as the community relations manager, and last May, the organization made the communications department an individual entity. Turner became director of the one-person department.

As a Department of Communication graduate, Turner remembers the engaging professors and interesting classes. She says Dr. Caplan and Dr. Mortenson were two professors that taught her to think of things in a different way. Turner wrote for The Review, was a member of Alpha Lambda Delta and a member of PRSSA.

“Try to make as many contacts as possible,” Turner says. “Don’t be afraid to reach out to people who are currently in the field.”

Turner’s most recent intern reached out to her in Professor Bartoo’s Introduction to Public Relations class. She encourages students to reach out to alumni and other professionals because she knows most would be willing to sit down and talk about what it is they’re doing.

“And I always stress the importance of good writing,” Turner says. “I think it’s important for all communication students to be both excellent speakers and excellent writers.”

Voting for Romney, Obama or . . . . YoUDee?

Posted on by

Political talk on TV hits a fever pitch this fall as the national elections approaches.  The Center for Political Communication AGAIN hosts prestigious speakers who dissect national and regional political issues, and then fold them into insightful media analysis. It’s happening many Wednesday nights right here in little ol’ Newark in the National Agenda Speaker Series

Karl Rove, David Plouffe, Steve Schmidt or Robert Gibbbs take a break from the little stage of Meet the Press and head to UD’s Mitchell Hall or the Bob this fall to call ’em like they see ’em.

Join us for any of these free and open to the public events, or check out the podcasts of these and all the National Agenda VIPs.

 

 

COMM Profs at Democratic National Convention in Charlotte

Posted on by

While you’re watching coverage of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) either live tonight for

President Obama’s big speech, or streaming it later via youtube.com, look for a few familiar COMM faces!  Dr. Lindsay Hoffman and Dr. Tracey Holden are there through UD’s Center for Political C
ommunication.

 

Follow Dr. Holden’s live tweets from their perch in the VIP box above (Delaware’s own) Vice President Joe Biden’s ( UD ’65)  balcony box at @tqholden. Or check out Dr. Hoffman’s take @lhhoff or her fantastic Huffington Post blog at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lindsay-hoffman/.

 

COMM Alumna Hits the International Stage

Posted on by

Another UD COMM recent alumna is reaching for the stars.

Jungmin Julia Oh has been (and will be) doing some amazing things….I put this little paragraph together:

After graduating from UD in May 2011 with a degree in mass communication, Jungmin Julia Ohwent to DC to complete an internship with the Korea Economic Institute, then with NK News.  During the summer (2012) she completed a highly selective internship as a political affairs intern with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs.

In that role, she participated in the United Nations conference on ‘Arms Trade Treaty 2012’ and provided research support, political analysis, and data collection for high representatives.  After five years in the U.S., Julia departed in August for two weeks at home in South Korea, after which she will cross the world yet again to attend King’s College in London to complete a Master’s program in International Relations.  We are so proud of her!

Prepping for Life After UD-MA-COMM

Posted on by

Jennifer Fry, MA ’12

 

Teaching & Learning

As my two years in the UD-MA-COMM program came to a close this spring, I began looking forward to life beyond campus, confident that my time here has provided me with a unique set of experiences.

Leaving UD with “MA” in hand, I plan to move into social media coordination and similar public relations work at a small agency or organization, and while plenty of PR students-turned-pros have had internship experience, how many can say they created and maintained complete social media strategies for two organizations on their own? Both the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition (DBCC) and Careerminds have minimal staffing, and because of that, I was trusted with to responsibility of working alone, without much direct instruction from superiors and without any assistance from fellow interns. I have these internships to thank for my passion for social media. After being totally immersed in the strategies and platforms, I really found my direction.

How many can say they’ve independently taught a total of nine sections of a college-level course? As a teaching assistant in the COMM department, I was tossed into this exact position head-first, and coming out of the experience, I found I’ve gained presentation and leadership qualities that I didn’t have before.

And lastly, how many can say they’ve graduated from the UD-MA-COMM program? Not having gone to UD as an undergraduate, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the faculty and the other students, but I was delighted to find a small group of fellow graduate students and a welcoming faculty and staff. The size of the department is enough to make a student feel at ease; even coming from a fairly small undergraduate institution, it’s nice to walk into the COMM hallway and know the people in the offices.

The reason I decided to return to school after having earned my Bachelor’s degree in 2008 was to add useful skills and knowledge to my repertoire, not to start over, and even after only two years, I feel as though I’ve gained so much that I could never have found elsewhere.