Communication News

Senior Mackenzie Wieder is excited to be interning with the Cool Kids Campaign in Towson under the direction of president and co-founder Chris Federico, who is a Villa Julie College/Stevenson grad. The Cool Kids Campaign is "devoted to improving the quality of life for pediatric oncology patients and their families by focusing on the academic, social and emotional needs brought on by a cancer diagnosis," according to their website. Mackenzie is working in all areas for the nonprofit, including development, event planning, marketing, and outreach, and she is thrilled with each day's work.

Junior Kamica Price (on the right in the photo), who is interning at Clapp Communications in Baltimore, is learning a great deal about the world of public relations, media buying and marketing from award-winning industry professionals. Her site supervisor, account executive Sarah Tuccitto, has given Kamica projects from day 1, and the entire staff at the company has taken an interest in supporting Kamica's internship experience.  Clapp Communications develops brand identities and marketing strategies for a wide variety of clients, including Baltimore County, Comcast, Loews Hotels, and many nonprofits.

Seniors Rachel Dolle (left) and Brooke Clariday (right) are enjoying their internship with Grow & Fortify, a company that works with the agricultural and food production businesses and industries in Maryland.  They have been working with clients, developing social media platforms, helping to plan events, and, in general, learning a great deal about wineries, breweries, and distilleries. Their mentor, marketing coordinator Callie Pfeiffer (center), has also given them publication pieces to write for trade magazines. Both students are very busy but admit they love what they are doing.

December alum Savannah (Lawrence) Tagget wrote a wonderful message to the department on the occasion of accepting a full-time position with Pivot Communication.

"After working part time for a month, they asked me to come on full time. They were impressed with my writing skills and ability to listen to what a client wants and deliver it the first time. If it weren't for all the AP style tests and practice using AP style in writing classes, my writing wouldn't shine -- thank you for teaching me such a valuable skill in the writing world. Professor Verni helped me discover my writing voice, too, which is why my boss has told me that he 'likes how I approach topics.'

Some of my job duties involve writing newsletters and blog posts, interviewing individuals for articles, managing clients' social media pages, and distributing event and news releases to press. Every day I see how skills I learned both at Stevenson and at my internships apply to my new job. I'm working with senior living, criminal justice and legal clients -- I love the diversity in topics. Yesterday I wrote a blog post on preliminary injunctions for a legal client, and I was shocked at how interesting it was to research and write about!

I would encourage the current interns to soak up all they can this semester. Without my internships, the learning curve for this job would be difficult to master. Also, one of the only reasons I was able to secure this job while still living back in Maryland was because of my experience. I was also told that I was well-spoken and confident -- traits that the Business Communication program instilled in me ... I'm truly astounded how apparent the transfer of skills from Stevenson is. "

Thank you, Savannah, for those encouraging words!

Business Communication alum Julia Tucker checked in recently to let us know she has accepted a full-time job offer as a Digital Media Coordinator for Mid-Atlantic Media in Owings Mills. Julia writes, "I am thrilled for this opportunity, and I look forward to all that it has to offer. I greatly appreciate the support and guidance ... given to me over the years." Congratulations, Julia -- what a great opportunity for you!