I'm a storyteller. Simply put, I connect with people in and around the university and share what I learn about them with the world. I communicate using several tools: writing, photography, and video. I write for print publication or web.
Colleges and universities are exciting places. On any given campus, lives are constantly changing. Boundaries are tested, limits are pushed. Successes celebrated, failures overcome. Perspectives are enlarged, making the world seem bigger and smaller, simultaneously. Ideas are exchanged. Knowledge is acquired, and sometimes discovered for the first time ever.
The better question is, 'Why not?'
I was bitten by the journalism bug pretty early on.
When I started writing about the arts for my college newspaper, I quickly became energized by the work. It wasn't just about presenting information— it was about connecting with readers and offering explanations, providing context, and sparking a dialogue.
I pursued a career in daily newspapers after I graduated, and I continued to develop skills that supported what, for me, had become a vocation.
The truth is that journalism is a service profession. No matter what beat I was working, I strived to make my news writing as relevant, timely, and accessible as possible.
When I made the choice in 2009 to transition out of the newspaper business, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to give up connecting with people and telling their stories. Higher ed seemed like the perfect place.
When I'm not working, I enjoy gardening, the outdoors, and playing with my dog, Gwynne.
Web content is everything we read, look at, watch, or listen to on the Internet. It's the "stuff" we interact with in digital environments, and it has the power to shape our perceptions and mold our opinions.
In higher ed environments, valuable content is everywhere. Let's take a common sight — students meeting outdoors for class on a fine spring day — as an example. A well-taken photograph can communicate several things. It can showcase the beauty of campus, it can help prospective students and their parents visualize what academic life is like, and it can show how faculty members engage with students.
It also sends the message that going to X College is just plain fun! We could even capture some quick video to instantly transport viewers to the scene.
Or, to take it a bit further, let's say a student tweeted about how excellent it was to have class outside, or she shared an interesting aspect of the discussion. Those tweets, sent spontaneously by a student, could be leveraged by an institution to start conversations among students, alumni, etc.
These skillbars are intended as a snapshot of my competencies. This is pure self-assessment; the only metric is my own appraisal of my knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Moderate proficiency with video editing software including Motion, Compressor, and DVD Studio Pro.
Moderate proficiency in intermediate-level image manipulation for both print and web.
Moderate proficiency in basic design, including typography, brushes, and gradients and transparencies.
When a large part of your web content job is to provide a high level of service to internal clients, the task can quickly become a matter of developing an IT solution to meet a communications need.
Through my work in higher ed, I've had the opportunity to cultivate a variety of technical skills in several aspects of information technology, from administering a web server to configuring content management systems for enterprise-wide use.
Digital content is not produced in a bubble. Success in developing web communications requires a broad understanding of the tools. More importantly, it demands flexibility and a willingness to adapt to new realities.
Plan and produce web content for institutional website, with increased responsibility for a number of internal clients such as campus life and several academic units like the schools of Nursing and Hospitality Management.
Coordinate the development, production, and distribution of digital video projects that support institutional messaging.
Manage several institutional social media channels: Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and Google+ accounts.
• Silver CUPPIE Award (2011) for Magazine Writing, "Empty Shelves"
• Student Life Fellowship Award (2010)
• Friend of Residence Life Award (2011)
• Social Media Committee
• LGBT Task Force
• Student Media Task Force
• Website Redesign Steering Committee
• Portal Communications Workgroup
• Advisor, Habitat for Humanity student organization
• Faculty Leader, Alternative Spring Break (2010, 2012)
• Panel Organizer & Moderator, CASE District II Social Media Conference (2011)
Independently judged relative importance of news items for submission to zoned edition of daily newspaper with 75,000+ circulation and exercised other forms of editorial judgment.
Works Published: Ultraviolet Danger: Holes in the Ozone Layer. New York: Rosen Publishing (2007).
Founded and launched newsweekly targeted specifically at waterfront communities of Jersey City & Hoboken.
Honors & Activities: Outstanding Senior Award for excellence in academics and campus leadership (2001); Undergraduate Research Conference (2000); Graduate-level coursework in critical theory and art historical research and methodology; Arts Editor for daily student newspaper.