How a spartan alumna’s hands-on experience in the classroom shaped her career as a business leader.
From ComArtSci classrooms to career success
Long before she was a business leader, Stephanie Hickman Boyse (’90, Advertising) was a ComArtSci student mastering the art of storytelling, branding and strategic communication. Those lessons proved invaluable as she moved into the professional world, navigating industries where clear messaging and audience engagement are key.
Initially, Boyse wanted to chart her own course outside the family tradition of going to MSU, originally enrolling at a different institution, but she quickly found herself missing the Spartan spirit she’d grown up with. Then, Boyse got a pivotal phone call from her sister.
“She said, ‘Transfer to Michigan State. Let’s spend my last year together,’” Boyse recalled. “I still get choked up talking about that because it was such a special moment for me. We just had the best year.”
The two sisters were best friends, and MSU officially became a full-family affair (parents, siblings and in-laws included). In transitioning from a small-town school to a Big Ten university, Boyse said her biggest challenge was finding a smaller community within a big community — a true sense of belonging. She noted that dorm living, sorority life and campus jobs helped shrink the sprawl and allowed her to build connections that have endured to this day.
Still, it was in the classroom that everything clicked.
“Michigan State really had the exact program that I was looking for to be able to balance the business side of my interests together with the creative side of my interests,” she said. “What I really loved about the advertising program at MSU was it was very hands-on. We were learning through the process but also creating real campaigns for real companies.”
One standout experience was her team’s advertising campaign for Listerine — a project that both tested their strategic chops and won the department’s senior advertising competition.
Projects like these were just one side of the coin; faculty guidance brought real-world insight to the other. “We were really lucky to have people that came out of industry that were now teaching,” she said. “It wasn't just an academic environment; they had real-world experience and could help mentor us about what we could truly expect in this field once we got out of school.”
Boyse points to the late Professor Jim Gilmore as especially influential, helping her choose a pathway within the advertising industry and offering tough love about what it would take to pursue a creative director role.
Boyse credits ComArtSci’s experiential learning approach, wide-ranging disciplines, three formative internships and Gilmore’s mentorship in giving her not just the skills, but the confidence to leap into the professional world. That leap took her straight into a marketing director role at Liska + Associates, a boutique Chicago firm buzzing with design talent and creative energy.
“It was an amazing opportunity,” she said. “My job was to manage the client side and bring new business in … where normally I would be in a big firm, a tiny little town executive, for many years. So, it was really exciting.”
Paying it forward
MSU’s impact didn’t stop when Boyse tossed her graduation cap. For one thing, she gained a set of lifetime friends. From post-college meetups in Chicago to planning vacations with her Spartan crew, the relationships she formed as a student remained central.
“Half of our friend group that we still stay in touch with are all Spartans. It’s really fun,” Boyse said. “We're able to joke and reminisce about old times at school together, and it's just remained a part of our friendship.”
Today, she’s deeply engaged with the university as a speaker, thought partner, and proud Spartan advocate.
Boyse is president and spokesperson of the S. L. Hickman Family Foundation, which recently made a $6 million gift to MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. The goal? To support collaborative cancer research between veterinary and human medicine.
“Our family foundation has always had a mission towards both health and education. In this case, it was that beautiful combination of both of those things,” she said. “Michigan State has given so much to us as a family … We have a philosophy in our family of giving back to those who have helped us be successful.”
For Boyse personally, that sense of return is taking shape in creative ways. After more than two decades serving as CEO of the family business, Brazeway, she returned to her creative roots to launch Jebbee, a career-exploration platform designed to connect students with mentors, educational institutions and employers.
“Everything we’ve done to build this app really comes full circle back to ComArtSci,” she said. “It’s design, it’s customer experience, it’s focus groups — it’s all the things I learned back then, now showing up again in my work.”
The platform is already being explored for deeper engagement with courses like ADV-413 and ADV-486, as well as academic units outside ComArtSci. Boyse is also collaborating with the Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine and engaging with other colleges across Michigan State to expand the platform’s interdisciplinary impact. Boyse regularly returns to campus to speak with students and share real-world insights from both the corporate and startup worlds.
“Students want authentic advice,” she said. “That’s the whole point of Jebbee.”
Whether it’s shaping how students explore their futures, cheering on MSU’s bold new campaign or helping amplify the university’s reputation, Boyse is loud and proud about her roots.
“We’ve been far too humble for too long,” she said. “I’m excited to be a small part of helping MSU scream at the top of its lungs about all the great people and programs here.”
By: Jessica Mussell