Degree(s): BJ 2000

Whereabouts: Coralville, Iowa

What do you do?

I am the Partner and Community Relations Coordinator at Iowa Lions Eye Bank in Coralville, Iowa.

How did you get your job?

I switched to marketing communications in 2016 after 15 years as a copy editor, designer and writer at a number of newspapers in Iowa and on the east coast. I first worked at a public policy organization before switching to health care communications. I worked at the University of Iowa’s Department of Psychiatry and then moved over to the Eye Bank.

What is the best professional lesson you learned at the J-School?

NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK. Using my connections in the Mizzou Mafia and other organizations has led me to a number of professional milestones.

What advice do you have for current students?

Never stop learning. There are always new skills to pick up. Since graduating from Mizzou, I have received a master’s degree in marketing communications and pursued certificates in event planning and nonprofit leadership and philanthropy.

What is your favorite J-School memory?

I have two: the night Gov. Mel Carnahan’s plane crashed, the newsroom did a great job of getting the breaking news into the Missourian. The Election of 2000 and the days following was a great lesson as well.