Back to (Grad) School

When I first began video editing, I felt that story craft was a linear process from production and through to editing. I believed that my footage was like a slab of marble and that my purpose as an editor was to sculpt it down into the form that it was meant to be. In the years since then, I have learned how incorrect that analogy was.

Communication and story craft are not a straight line, nor are they only an art. From a background in photojournalism and documentary work, I moved into the product marketing world and now into education. What amazes me most is the strategy and precision necessary for successful communication in today’s media landscape. My interests in video production no longer start with what makes a visually compelling story, but with who the video is intended to address and through which media channels.

As my career takes me out of the field and into meeting rooms, it is imperative that I fully understand the needs of my internal customers — our curriculum, public relations, and marketing departments— and of their external clients. I relish the opportunity to steer my career path to focus on production management, making this emphasis on strategic communication as customer service is both personal and professional.

The online MA in Strategic Communication will allow me to supplement my work experience with thought-provoking assignments and discussions that will be applicable to my daily video production environment. As communication strategy and customer service have always been interesting to me, I decided to pursue this degree to further my expertise outside of purely filming and editing video, without taking time away from the work that I enjoy. With the knowledge and experience gained through WSU’s online MA, I can proactively provide my internal customers with coordinated and timely video strategies rather than simply waiting for an assignment to come down the pipeline.

As I am currently employed within an online education company, the importance of pursuing a degree online cannot be overstated. Although our end users are K-12 students, their parents, and their teachers, any opportunity I can take to experience a learning environment similar to theirs will lend me invaluable insight and perspective.

Another goal in furthering my education with WSU is to experience different perspectives from those inside my current organization. Discussing peers’ successes and failures can often be more valuable than reading case studies or making a similar mistake myself. Each course in WSU’s Strategic Communication MA speaks directly to situations in which I must be knowledgeable as a video producer and eventually a production manager. From Crisis Communication and Persuasion to Brand Development and Creative Media Strategies, I fully expect WSU’s curriculum to meet (or exceed!) my desire for professional and personal growth within the foreseeable future.

My ultimate goal in earning this degree, alongside career advancement, is to gain a comprehensive understanding of how to tailor video communication differently per audience. I firmly believe that with a new knowledge of strategic communication, I will help guide proper pre-production with internal customers that will lead to more efficient video production. My goal is to facilitate a process in which a single set of footage will be edited and delivered differently across channels to appeal to a variety of audiences. Increasing the efficiency of operations and the success of video communications is within my reach as I expand my career with WSU’s MA in Strategic Communication.