Purpose Statement: Master's in Public Interest Communications

Purpose Statement for Master's of Public Interest Communications 

In my life I strive to do great things with great love alongside great friends, for those in great need, while enjoying the beautiful moments along the way. This mantra serves as a personal north star and I have found it to be useful in evaluating opportunities in my life. After diligent consideration, I believe that pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Interest Communications will provide me with skills, knowledge, perspective and friends that will allow me to better achieve this standard in my life.

I began my public relations career at Edelman’s Chicago office as a member of the Corporate practice, specializing in employee communications. While witnessing the operations of the world’s largest public relations firm from the “center of the empire” was exhilarating, I found that my purely corporate work lacked the purposeful impact I desired to create. After a year, I left to join Weber Shandwick’s social impact practice in Seattle. This past year has provided significant growth and I’ve gained valuable experience through working with clients such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Amgen Foundation and UW Medicine and have developed a deeper perspective on issues including global health, financial literacy, science education, pandemic response, and workforce retirement planning.

My top priority as I’ve begun my career has been to develop strategic communications skills at an accelerated pace and now I hope to learn how to better apply these skills to achieve social impact. I first discovered “public interest communications” from a podcast featuring Ann Christiano and Annie Neiman. Light bulbs flashed on in my head as I listened to their breakdown of why the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful in comparison to previous boycotts. Having always considered my profession to be public relations, I was surprised to discover a discipline that aligned with both my passion for social impact and interest in strategic communications. I always saw myself as a hybrid “50 percent public relations, 50 percent social impact,” and was surprised, but delighted, to discover “public interest communications,” as a term that precisely described the nexus of my twin passions, strategic communications and social innovation, that I have sought to occupy.

Through this program I hope to better understand how to apply the art and science of public interest communications to create lasting impact for those in great need. I see this program as a key stepping stone in building a career that goes beyond producing cosmetic social change and uses strategic communications to solve social issues. I expect to be challenged intellectually, in and outside of the classroom, and hope to broaden my perspective through the relationships I build with professors and fellow students who share the goal of shaping a better world in the future. With a Master’s degree, I hope to continue my scholastic development in harmony with my career as a practitioner and plan to contribute to the profession in the near future through adjunct teaching in preparation for someday pursing a PhD.

...and last of all: Go Gators!!!!