MSU StratCom student Vaughn Springer just landed a new job. Congratulations, Vaughn!
We heard you have some good news, what happened?
I spent an extended period of time unemployed and connected with another Spartan alum last March. Because of the pandemic and all of the changes, they [Michigan Association of Public School Academies] were hesitant to bring someone onto the team. In June 2020, I started contracting for them as a Communications Specialist. After 5 months and a different team member leaving, they created a new position that encompassed what I was doing as a contractor and some other tasks. On February 1, I accepted a position as the Project Coordinator at Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA). As the PC I'll be working on a small, but mighty team focusing on a lot of communications projects (social media, email marketing, and editorials), supporting advocacy projects with legislators, and working on website updates!
What are you most excited about with this new opportunity?
This is my first "grown-up" job in my career field after I graduated from MSU's professional writing program in August 2017. I'm so excited to finally have a job where I'm putting all of the skills I learned into practice as well as having a place to apply my StratCom knowledge in real life and real time!
My first big project already launched, just 2.5 weeks into being full-time! I took major ownership of our #CelebrateChoice campaign which included everything from writing the stories to creating the website pages to making the email to posting it on social media.
Do you feel like your MSU StratCom experience helped in any way?
I'm still early on in my StratCom journey; this is my second semester. I do think that being accepted and successful so far has contributed to my confidence! Having a team behind me at all times is awesome! My StratCom mentor was also constantly rooting me on.
What advice do you have for other MSU StratCom students looking to advance in their careers?
Know that StratCom is here to help! I check in with Daune regularly which helps me stay on track with my own personal goals. I think that had a huge influence on how I felt applying to a new role. I was also even more excited when I got to tell both Daune and my StratCom mentor, Penny!