All-Star Alumni Offer Secret Recipes to Success at JMS Career Week
Sixteen accomplished JMS alumni provide detailed advice to students during a week of discussion
by Baylee Akins
June 4, 2021
The emphases offered within the School of Journalism and Media Studies offer a wide array of career options, one of its many selling points to prospective students looking to be admitted to the School. However, the same breadth that makes it appealing can also leave students feeling overwhelmed when trying to decipher a career path that makes sense for them. To help guide current students and show them what their options are, Director Dr. Temple Northup assembled 16 all-star alumni for the first-ever JMS Career Week.
“There really is no better way to illustrate the many career paths that are open to our graduates than by featuring our alumni themselves,” says Dr. Northup. “These are all individuals who once sat in our classes, then graduated and embarked on successful careers.”
The week was divided up into four days of panels grouped by industry, ending with a Beyond JMS installment that tied into the series. The industries covered were journalism; public relations; advertising and marketing; digital and sports media; ending with sports, media and social justice. The panelists tuned in from across the nation to talk about their experiences with the JMS program, how it impacted their careers, and offering advice for students looking to follow a similar path or potentially apply to one of their companies.
“It’s no secret to us that JMS alumni go on to achieve amazing things, but there is something magical about seeing a distinguished group gathered together for a common goal,” Dr. Northup noted. Among the group were professionals from the NFL, Disney, New Yorker Magazine, Press Secretary for the U.S. House of Representatives, Intuit, Oculus, play-by-play sports announcer, Allison+Partners, and more.
The advice offered throughout the week gave students a crash course in career guidance that they may have never received otherwise. Coming from different backgrounds, working in different industries, and being at different stages in their careers, each panel was able to offer advice that resonates with a diverse student body. A common theme throughout the week was the encouragement to dive into your career with determination and unrelenting charisma to get your foot in the door in any way you can. Another piece of advice that came up in every panel was the importance of connections. Many panelists shared how they’ve leveled up in their career by staying in contact with valuable mentors, coworkers, and even classmates, at any level of their career—the reoccurring phrase being, “You never know who you’ll cross paths with again.”
For those who were unable to attend Career Week and hear from the professionals firsthand, we’ve compiled a highlight from each panel below.
JOURNALISM
“I worked at The Daily Aztec, and moved up the ranks year by year. [Looking back] I wish I would have experimented more with all of the beats, even photography. Diversifying my skillset is the thing that helped me the most, in classes and in the job market. This will allow you to be able to help your newsroom in any way possible.” -Ana Ceballos, Reporter, The Miami Herald
View the full journalism panel here.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
“I’ll elaborate on the idea of connecting different disciplines under the entire communications umbrella. When I’ve seen it work well is when you’re thinking about the entire suite of things you can offer to a business leader. A concept I learned early on is [striving to be] a ‘T-shaped’ professional. You want to have a strong understanding of the things you can pull out of the tool kit, but that doesn’t mean you have to be an expert on all of them. You can be [a subject matter expert] on one thing (the bottom line of the ‘T’), but you need to know when to use the other tools. This strategy put me in a position to get other opportunities. It can be difficult to stay on the cutting edge [of the industry], so if you can think about [connecting the disciplines] in that way, I think you’re doing a better job of staying in the conversation.” -Faryar Borhani, Global Corporate Communications Lead at Encore Capital Group
View the full public relations panel here.
ADVERTISING
“Balance out your IQ with your EQ. We all look for functional understanding of the subject matter expertise, but once you’re there it’s somewhat table stakes. From there, it then becomes about emotional intelligence and it’s about how you’re able to influence and how you’re able to lead others. And you don’t do that these days through a title or a paycheck. The way you do it is through influence, [which is gained through] your ability to understand other people and listen. If you and I get through 20 minutes and you’ve only talked about yourself and haven’t asked one question about me, in my mind, you don’t have a high level of emotional intelligence. Balancing that subject matter expertise with human insight is important.”
-Doug Palladini, Global Brand President at Vans, a division of VF Outdoor
View the full advertising panel here.
DIGITAL & SPORTS MEDIA
“The things I like to hear in interviews are the stories of something. For instance, ‘How difficult was it for you to get that interview?’ Hearing your end-to-end journey with a project and getting a glimpse of that hustle as opposed to just relying on the artifact itself and not being scared to mention if something didn’t go right. Those can still be really great stories. Know that it’s not just your bright and shiny portfolio that will do all the work; [it’s important to be] able to paint the picture of your passion.” -Patricia B. Swesey (Dwyer), Senior Content Designer at Intuit
View the full digital and sports media panel here.
Another unanimously valuable piece of advice: just because you aren’t a student anymore doesn’t mean you should stop learning. This idea was offered up across the board from panelists in many forms, but its value was continually echoed: Showing intellectual curiosity and the desire to continue to learn, in whatever capacity, extends beyond the extracurricular and will help you excel in your career. If nothing else, it will allow you greater perspective, an important quality in a professional from any industry.
The highlights above are only a glimpse of the insights shared that week. Whether you’re a student, about to enter the workforce, or looking to make a shift within the industry, the breadth of advice is worth the listen. If there is one clear takeaway from the week, it’s the power of connections and collective knowledge through the School of JMS and San Diego State University.
To view the full list of panelists and connect with them on LinkedIn, click here.
The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.
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