Where are you from and what were you doing before enrolling in graduate school?

I am from Canton, Michigan (where the only IKEA in the state is located!). I went to University of Michigan for undergrad (Go Blue!) and graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature. I’m a word nerd! After graduation, I worked as an HR Assistant at University of Michigan and I currently work remotely for the University of Michigan Medical School.

How did you learn about the Digital Social Media degree program and why did you choose USC Annenberg?

My boyfriend and I were on vacation in California and randomly decided to check out USC’s campus while we were there. I fell in love with campus and even took a photo right in front of Wallis Annenberg Hall! I thought it would be so cool to go to school here, so my boyfriend encouraged me to look at USC’s graduate programs. I was a little hesitant at first because I didn’t think graduate school was in my future, however, the digital social media program caught my eye. I like to joke that I stopped scrolling TikTok long enough to apply!

What have you enjoyed the most about the Digital Social Media degree program?

I think that I’m in a really cool position because I’m a Millennial with Gen Z classmates. What I’m learning in my classes is how to market to, well, them! So it’s super insightful to have access to a highly desirable target audience and to actually get to know them as people. I also super enjoy my professors and feel so fortunate to be able to learn from them; they work in the industries they teach about and they all want us to succeed!