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 Amber
McCafferty,
a 2002 Elon grad, is working with Trone Public Relations Inc. in
Greensboro, N.C., as an account coordinator. She was hired to fill
the position about two weeks before graduation. "I have no
doubt my previous experience built through internships got me the
job," she said. "My work portfolio included coursework,
but it was primarily work done in my internships." During her
undergraduate years at Elon, she capitalized on experiences gained
through internships at two agencies: Richard French & Associates
in Raleigh and Dome Communications in Chicago. "Richard French
is a sister company of Trone, and that probably helped me land this
spot," she said. Trone is a full-service agency that offers
media relations, event marketing, executive visibility, issues and
crisis management and media training. McCafferty is working on Trone's
Syngenta, Cricket Wireless and Quick Step account teams. Her e-mail
address is amccafferty@trone.com.
 Shelby
Brown, class of 2002, lives in Columbia, S.C., where she works
for WIS, the NBC affiliate (broadcast television market #83). She
works in the programming and promotions department, and has assigned
tasks that involve her in every aspect of the operation, including
maintaining/distributing the station's program schedule, acting
as a children's programming liaison to the FCC, producing/editing
promotional spots for air, arranging community projects, filing
the Neilsen log and most recently producing segments for the sports
department.
"I got
the job the old-fashioned way, answering an ad and sending my resume,"
she said. "My internship the summer preceding my senior year
was an indispensable resource. Aside from hands-on writing/producing
experience, it enabled me to get great references. What I think
was a sole factor in my motivation and preparedness for life after
graduation, was Senior Seminar with Connie Book. She showed me how
to think and reason in this industry. She provided me with research
skills and knowledge that enabled me to secure a job before graduation."
Brown said
she wanted to share the message that it is not that important to
have a big title or salary on your first job after graduation. "All
you need is a foot in the door," she said. "If you demonstrate
a strong willingness to learn and tenacity, superiors will give
you more responsibility and high-profile projects that will get
you noticed." She said she plans to take her career direction
into news or programming. Her e-mail address is shelbyvbrown@att.net.
Jaya Martin,
a 2002 grad, has been working full-time for Blessed Sacrament Catholic
Church in Burlington, N.C., since mid-July. She is the coordinator
for the Faith Development program, which serves about Grad300 children
in kindergarten through eighth grades. She also travels throughout
the diocese of Raleigh for workshops and retreats. More than half
of the families involved in the church are Spanish-speaking. "I'm
like an assistant principal," she said, "and it's been
fun so far." Martin expects to spend about a year in this job
before she goes to graduate school. Her e-mail address is ParaJaya@aol.com.
Kelly Allen,
class of 2000, taught broadcast journalism at the Robeson County
Career Center in Lumberton, N.C., before beginning graduate school
at Duquesne in January 2001. While there, she worked with local
non-profit organizations and WTAE-TV. "It was wonderful to
meet Jim Hefner (WTAE executive and a member of Elon's School of
Communications Advisory Board) while I was up there," she said.
She completed her master's degree in corporate communication in
May and is now teaching in the Humanities and Fine Arts Department
of Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, N.C. She also teaches
public speaking courses as an adjunct at the University of North
Carolina - Wilmington. Her e-mail address is kallen@capefear.cc.nc.us.
Alecia Pynn,
a 2000 graduate, is now employed in the sports information office
at the University of Florida. She works with the football and basketball
programs. "I hear lots of compliments about Elon grads,"
she said. "Thanks to Elon for a great experience." Pynn's
e-mail address is AleciaP@gators.uaa.ufl.edu.
Leigh Wheeler,
a 2001 grad, is the development coordinator for the Travel
Channel at Discovery networks. She tracks incoming and ongoing productions
and proposals. "It's a lot of paperwork and organizing,"
she said, "but I'm happy to have my foot in the door at a quality
organization, and it is a wonderful opportunity." Her e-mail
address is leighwheeler@hotmail.com.
Jessica
Vitak, a 2002 grad, is working in the Washington, D.C., bureau
of PR Newswire, an organization with 30 bureaus located throughout
the United States. She's one of eight people on the editorial staff
in D.C., where she edits, codes and distributes news releases. The
office is located about three blocks away from the National Mall,
near the Washington Monument. "I love my job because I am learning
a lot about the business and financial worlds," she said. "I
enjoy being able to 1) read releases before the media or general
public, and 2) work on a release in the morning and see it running
across CNN's ticker by afternoon or see a VNR about the topic. For
the first time since I entered college, maybe ever, I feel on top
of the news. I am working in one of the busiest cities in the world,
where news is happening all around me, and I am an important part
of it. It's an extremely rewarding feeling." Her e-mail address
is jessica_vitak@yahoo.com.
Erik Furlan
is a clerk/reporter in the Gaston, N.C., bureau of The Charlotte
Observer. His responsibilities include office administration, compilation
of an area entertainment calendar, writing features and covering
area religion and business news. The 2002 Elon grad is living in
the Charlotte area. "My ultimate goal is still in NASCAR media,"
he said. "Coming in as a broadcast major, I never imagined
that my first job would be in the print field. The School of Communication's
concentration cross-over allowed me to pick up the journalism concentration
as well, opening up so many more doors. So far, it's been an eye-opening
experience, classic 'first job' in communications." Erik's
e-mail address is efurlan@carolina.rr.com.
Suzanne
George, a 2002 grad, is an assistant account executive with
M Booth and Associates, a New York City PR firm. She works with
the company's Travel and Lifestyle team." I love my job,"
she says. "We have clients such as Royal Olympic Cruises, Ski
Utah (all of the ski resorts in the state), resorts in Las Vegas,
Trip.com and Cheaptickets.com, Beaulieu Vineyard in the Napa Valley
and several others. It's great to work with such wonderful clients
such as these. To think last year at this time I thought I was busy!
It's been a bit of an adjustment getting into the New York way of
life, but a good one. Billy Duffy and I are now engaged and planning
to get married June 14 in Raleigh. Life is truly coming together
for me." Her e-mail address is: Suzanneg@mbooth.com.
Allison
Deiboldt,
a 2002 grad,
is a research analyst for the TV research firm Petry Media Corporation,
a sister company to Blair Media. She is working in the main offices
on 5th Avenue and 54th Street in mid-town Manhattan. She works with
a number of broadcast clients from all over the United States, doing
statistical analysis and writing proposals and presentations in
regard to their best marketing strategies. She said she's thankful
to all of her Elon professors for their influence and support. Her
e-mail address is adeiboldt@yahoo.com.
Kristen
Nastasia, a 2000 grad, has moved to her second position in TV
News. She worked for about 18 months as a producer/reporter for
WECT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Wilmington, N.C., before moving to
WZVN-TV, the ABC affiliate in Ft. Myers, Fla. While she was at WECT
she won two AP Awards (Rookie of the Year 2000, First Place Spot
News 2000) and three RTNDA-Carolinas first places (political, consumer
and news series reporting). She has been working at the Ft. Myers
station for about a year now. She covers Florida's biggest county,
Collier, and she lives in Naples. "My career is going so well,"
she said. "and I credit much of my post-Elon success with my
hands-on training during college." While at Elon, she worked
at ESTV and completed summer internships with WBTV in Charlotte
and WWAY-TV in Wilmington. Her e-mail address is kristenn@abc-7.com.
Allyson
Brunetti,
a 2002 grad, is the production coordinator for "Change of
Heart," a Warner Brothers television series that is shot in New
York. The program is a dating show/reality series. One of Brunetti's
duties is to coordinate the intern program, and she says she would
like to hire Elon students for the positions. Her e-mail address
is Allyson.Brunetti@warnerbros.com.
Audrey Seagraves, a 2002 grad, is working in a one-year,
paid fellowship with The Population Institute, an educational non-profit
organization. Its national office is located on Capitol Hill in
Washington, D.C. "I'm still trying to decide if PR work is for me;
I have a year to figure some things out," she says. "I am going
to Johannesburg at the end of August for the 2-week World Summit
on Sustainable Development. I'm really excited about going, and
hope I can network while I'm there. I am having a great time so
far. I like the people I work with and love D.C." Her e-mail address
is audrey_seagraves@yahoo.com.
Janell Otis, a 2002 grad, is an area sales
manager for College Directory Publishing Inc., a company that produces
ads for college phone directories. She interned for the company
last summer, selling ads for the Elon directory. "I am having a
great summer traveling around the U.S.," she says. "I travel around
the Southeast working with students participating in the summer
internship program. I have been to many places in Vermont, Maryland,
North Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, Florida and the Washington,
D.C., area." She plans to move to Philadelphia in October or November
and continue working for the parent company of College Directory
Publishing, AroundCampus Inc. Her e-mail address is JOCOCHE@aol.com.
Lauren Cooper, a 2002 grad, is a media relations
assistant for Wake Forest University Athletics, handling publicity
and statistics for Wake Forest's NCAA Division I intercollegiate
sports. She serves as the primary media contact for women's soccer,
men's and women's cross country and men's and women's track and
field. She also assists with football and men's and women's basketball.
Her duties include producing, designing and editing media guides
and game programs, as well as Web site maintenance and statistical
updating. "I love what I am doing," she says. "I get to be involved
in college athletics at the best level of competition, the ACC.
Working at Wake Forest gives me the opportunity to network with
colleagues all over the nation and will allow many chances for me
to become established quickly in the sports industry." Her e-mail
address is cooperml@wfu.edu.
Daryl Lundsford, a 2002 grad, is working as
a video producer/editor on sports-related programming at Tulane
University in New Orleans. His e-mail address is dlunsfor@tulane.edu.
Courtney Russell, a 2002 grad, is working
for Magno Sound and Video, a post-production company in New York
City. Her assignment is in the international department of the company,
where she works with dubs and conversions. Her e-mail address is
courtney@magnointernational.com.
Mandie Danielski, a 2002 grad, a communications
minor, is in a two-year graduate school program at Michigan Tech.
The institution waived her tuition and offered her a teaching-assistant
position. "I have the opportunity to teach freshmen in a course
like college writing," she says. "I love the course offerings in
this program; the community of people there is supportive and really
involved with their work and studies, and I love learning." Danielski
says her plan is to earn her Ph.D. in rhetoric/composition in order
to teach college students. Her e-mail address is mdaniels@mtu.edu.
Holly Edwards, a 2002 grad, accepted a job
with Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, corporate
parent of a number of popular eateries. She is a sales manager for
PJ Clarkes restaurants, conducting sales and marketing calls and
planning events. "Everyone knows about LEYE and they are impressed
I was able to get a job with them right out of school," she says.
"It's great to be back in the city, I can't stop smiling. I'm very
good friends with two Elon graduates from 2000 - they live a block
away from me: Kristen and Josh Felix. I couldn't have done it without
the guidance and knowledge of the faculty at Elon - an education
that I know that will carry me far." Her e-mail address is hollye02@hotmail.com.
(Tell us about yourself
and your career, so we can share the news of your success with friends
and mentors. Send information to andersj@elon.edu.)
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