Another start to the week, which means it is time for another #ProudProf feature. This time, I would like to future a student who is probably one of the best writers I have had in class.
There are students you have in class who are naturally gifted in writing and are able to not only do this in the traditional sense, but make it come alive in social media. This is a gift Maggie Cunningham has.
Maggie came into my social media class in Spring 2014 and mentioned to me she loved to write. I thought that this was wonderful to hear because there are two areas within StratComm and social media students either love or hate: research or writing. I of course tell them these, along with having creative strategic insight, are the most important skills to have as a professional entering the field.
With that being said, the first blog posts were due in class and I remember where I was when I first read Maggie’s blog post. I was looking at this blog post and thought – there is NOTHING wrong with this. I read the posts over and over again just to make sure. In fact, Maggie received the highest grade for the class, and I had graduate and undergraduate students in this section of my social media class. I remember talking to Maggie briefly before class and complimented her on her blog writing and to really consider thinking about this as a career.
Which brings up a point and lesson I have to thank Maggie for teaching me. I realized as professors, each student comes into our classes with different skills, interests, backgrounds, and goals after graduation. It’s also our job to be able to provide encouragement when needed if we see something special come up.
This is what happened to me when I saw Maggie’s writing – I told her, you have a gift and really can make this into a career. I wanted to do whatever I could as a professor to encourage, support, and provide her direction on enhancing these skills even more. Throughout the semester, Maggie continued writing some exceptional posts and provided some very good insights in her other assignments for class. Many of her fellow classmates in #Freberg14 praised her work before, during, and after class as well – which was wonderful to see as a professor.
After graduation, Maggie got a position to work with the social media and marketing team over at Cafe Press, and she brought these amazing personalized notebooks for my class this past semester when I had my #FrebergAlum panel. This was awesome and such a wonderful gift! Still have mine in a place of honor!
Fast forward a few months, Maggie now works as a social media community manager for Kindred Healthcare and is doing some great writing work on their blog. The social media team at Kindred are amazing people and I am really happy Maggie continue showcasing her writing skills and being professionally active in the social media community.
In summary, when it comes to the time every semester when I teach my social media class, I talk about the power of writing and how it is an essential skill to have as a social media professional. I talk to each class about Maggie and what she’s been able to do with it and with this example, it’s inspired other students to work hard to improve their writing skills to meet the “Maggie Standard” for class.
Very proud of all of the success you’ve had since you graduated from UofL, Maggie! #ProudProf
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
