Samford University
Department of Communication Studies

• Home
• Our Video
• Our Faculty
• Our Program
• Our Students
• Diverse Careers
• Our Alums
• Internships
• Honors
• Newsletter

Our Alums

In the Department of Communication Studies, we develop lifelong relationships with our students. We care deeply about them, and we do all we can to insure they are successful not only while they are enrolled in our program, but long after they graduate.

We couldn't be prouder of our alums; they've gone on to do impressive work in a remarkably wide range of careers. They tell us that what they learned in their communication courses has helped them secure jobs, receive promotions, and succeed in graduate school. Here's what some of our recent graduates have to say:

• Amy Bonds, '06 I just wanted to let you know that although I received quite a few job offers after graduation, I decided to go with Randolph Associates Inc. My position is Chief Technical Editor. They want me to do editing, help with the presentations they give, help with the website, and help market their product. They loved all my Comm. Studies stuff, especially the portfolio and workshop. The position I applied for was just editing, but when they saw all the stuff I had done in the department they wanted to add to my responsibilities...I think that speaks very well for the department!

• Lindsey Cunningham Williamson, '06 I was telling my husband just yesterday how much I miss some of my classes...I pull principles from communication theories we learned all the time and in hindsight, I am so grateful for my education and for my major especially. Colby and I are in Minneapolis in the St. Paul area in a community called Roseville. We work at Bethel University. We are on staff with Campus Outreach Minneapolis and are pioneering a student ministry at Bethel. We are both so excited about the team of people we work with and also the church we are involved in. Thanks again for all you did for me!

• Olivia Keaggy, '06 I've got an amazing job at a company called International Expeditions. My title is Assistant Destination Manager for West Africa and Egypt. The best part about it is that I actually get to go on the trips! What I wanted to tell you is that I brought in my senior portfolio and the COO of the company was blown away! She even brought the president of the company into my interview to show him. After she looked all through the portfolio, she told me that she thought I was qualified to take this position, rather than the one I was originally shooting for. This position is waaay better! So I have Comm Studies to truly thank!

• Ashley Martin, '06 After graduation, I was offered a divisional manager position with WorkPlay, the company where I did my internship. As the Manager of New Media, I produced, edited, and promoted our weekly podcast. I also launched the in-house advertising division in the company. I'm now in charge of public relations and advertising. My Communication Studies degree has proved invaluable. This major equipped me to be an extremely competent communicator when making calls on clients, and I know I am more than ready for anything the workforce has to throw at me.

• Alan Mykitta, '06 Thanks to the knowledge and experience I gained in comm studies I was able to step out of school and immediately into one of the most sought after production jobs in Birmingham. As director and editor for both Hunter Films and WorkPlay Productions I am doing what I always dreamed about and more. I work with independent films and filmmakers to create and promote their projects as well as creating my own original pieces. I also write, direct, edit and produce everything from network commercials to music videos and television series. Without the flexibility and quality of education I received in the communication studies department I could never have done this job. Communication is the key to any door you want opened and that is what you can expect to gain from the Communication Studies department at Samford University.

• Bethany Rushing, '06 I'm working at the University of South Florida as the Stewardship Coordinator at the University of South Florida Health in the Office of Development. I use my Communication Studies degree everyday. I spend much of my time writing donors and my skills in webpage creation and design are really being put to good use. During my job interview, I showed my senor portfolio, which my supervisor loved!!!

• Lanie Beth Thompson, '06 I am working at Land Investment Company as their marketing and research manager. I also work part-time at Community Bible Church as a young women's minister. I started working two weeks after graduation and haven't stopped since! I do want to thank the Communication Studies department. You pressed us hard and it was tough, but now that I am in the real world, I feel prepared and not stressed about getting my work done at all! By the way, my portfolio helped me land the job! For that I am definitely grateful! I'm thankful to you for truly impacting my life.

• David Wilkinson, '06 I'm the sports director for a television station in Montgomery, ABC 32 WNCF. I also host several shows for the station: AUM Athletics, Inside the Tide and Tigers, and Affecting Alabama (news show). The internships in the comm. studies department taught me everything I know today. Without them I wouldn't have gotten this great job, definitely not within a month after graduating. I wanted to thank the communication studies department for giving their students wonderful opportunities to intern....if it wasn't for you guys, I'd still be waiting tables.

• Katherine Ball, '05 I handle insurance claims on policyholders' car policies for Alabama and Mississippi. As State Farm prides itself on excellent customer service, and as Claims Representatives are often the only contact most policyholders will have with the company, it is of utmost importance to consistently carry the highest degree of professionalism, knowledge and compassion toward our customers. The knowledge I gained as a member of the Communication Studies Department plays an integral part in my success in this position. I learned how to communicate effectively in any situation and to prepare for any and all unexpected situations. Teamwork, professionalism and every type of business communication – oral and written – are key skills the Communication Studies Department focuses on developing in its' students, and I am a better employee for it.

• Brooke Bamberg, '05 I am currently working as Project Director for the Alabama Republican Party in Birmingham. I absolutely love what I am doing. I do all event planning on the state level, manage the website and e-campaign, and coordinate the majority of correspondence to voters and activists. The written skills I developed through Communication Studies helped me create professional resumes and cover letters as I searched for jobs. With these, I was able to get my foot in the door which then allowed me to use the verbal skills I learned in the major in employment interviews. Most of all, I believe my Communication Studies degree qualified me for a diverse range of career options. I was able to entertain several job possibilities but was also able to find MY niche in the communication field.

• Kanisha Billingsley, '05 I'm at Emory University---a graduate student at Candler School of Theology in pursuit of a Master's of Divinity degree. I am currently engaging the ministerial preparation process at my church. I am on the verge of being the first female ordained minister in my congregation.

• Sarah Davis, '05 I'm working in Seattle, Washington at Bensussen, Deutsch & Associates, Inc. This is one of the most successful merchandise agencies in the world! I am the Supplier Program Coordinator here and I LOVE MY JOB! I am proud to tell you that I am truly putting my communication education to work! If I hadn't majored in comm. studies, I'm not sure I'd be able to do this job-I certainly wouldn't love it like I do!!

• Katie Hall-Bentley, '05 I am doing great. I'm in my second year at Truett Seminary in Waco, Texas. My husband Baxter and I are working on our Master's of Divinity, with an emphasis in World Missions and Christianity. We actually took a class (through the seminary) for five weeks this past summer where we traveled to about 6 different cities in India, and LOVED it! I also started a new job this year, and I am an Associate Director of Recruitment here at the seminary. I have really enjoyed this position so far, I get to travel to different events recruiting students for Truett. It's nice to feel like you're using your abilities and your degree!

• Jon Mann, '05 I'm working for One Stop Environmental, LLC company. I am in Business Development and I work in New Orleans to procure government contracts and secure industrial work. I'm enjoying what I do. I get to use all my rhetorical/communication skills that I learned from the prof's in comm studies. What I learned in the department actually makes sense with regards to sales; I research my jobs, call people and meet them, and communicate all day long.

• Chase Williams, '05 I am a pharmaceutical rep. with Eli Lilly and Co. and LOVE IT! Life is great and getting better. The electronic portfolio and my senior workshop were big helps in getting me hired, and my boss still mentions "Amish Gone Wild" research paper almost every time she sees me!

• Jason Wood, '05 I am in seminary at Gordon-Conwell in Boston pursuing my Masters of Divinity. Right now, I lead one of our praise bands, write the weekly newsletter, and am a member of our preaching team. I'm also working with Media Services on campus, doing audio/video/videoconferencing setups for classes and meetings. I also do audio editing for online courses. Turns out that Samford was a great launchpad for me. The writing and study skills that I learned at Samford prepared me well for my pursuits at Gordon-Conwell (not to mention my communication background...I can actually see my Galvan book and Jensen's Small Group Comm books right there on my bookshelf about two feet away...I'm sure Brian Pavlick would be happy to know that).

• Amanda Hambrick, '04 I am in my third (and final) year at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. I have enjoyed my studies a lot. Since my time at seminary I've developed a passion for the inner-city. I am beginning to see injustice in the educational systems and in many other areas. For the past year and a half, I worked at a Christian Wellness Center in Mosby Court, one of Richmond's poorest neighborhoods. There, I ran an after-school program that taught me valuable lessons.

• Scott Meyer, '04 I am now a law school student as well as a professional stand-up comedian. I am reminded daily of how well the Communication Studies department prepared me for both careers. I learned how rhetoric and persuasion work to influence people and culture, which has helped me immensely in the entertainment industry. The academic program is rigorous but infinitely rewarding. I'm doing very well in law school and I've found that I am much more prepared academically than my classmates. Whether it is taking final exams, briefing cases, interacting with my professors or writing a paper, I often find myself with an advantage over those without a Samford Comm. Studies degree. The best part about a Comm. Studies degree is not the quality academics or practical skills learned. It is definitely the faculty. I literally fell in love with Dr. Parker, Dr. Janas and Dr. Coulter. They've touched my life in many ways. My comedy career started out during my time in the Comm. Studies department. These professors recognized my gifts and encouraged me to use them on the largest scale possible, and for this I am very grateful. This is the sort of above-and-beyond care that they show each student in the major. Looking back, I could have not picked any other major. For me, there isn't a more perfect academic discipline in a more caring and supportive community.

• Katherine Arnold-Wolf and Jay Wolf, '04 Jay and I love California and living at the beach at Malibu. I am hosting a television show and I have been on several TV shows and commercials. Jay is excelling in his second year of Law School at Pepperdine University, and he was accepted into the Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law. We're both so glad we majored in Comm. Studies, after all, that's where we met each other! We traveled and served in Africa this summer providing medical relief to those in incredible need, and we are involved with a number of service organizations out here. Thanks for everything-the support from Comm. Studies has been wonderful!

• Jennifer Bohler, '03 As a graduate of the Communication Studies program at Samford, I work daily with patients who have an impaired ability to communicate with others. I am a speech-language pathologist in both acute care and outpatient settings. By majoring in Communication Studies, I gained a broad knowledge base of various types and methods of communication. Possessing this background knowledge aids me in rehabilitating impaired communication methods and in creating new ways for these patients to express their ideas and to understand the communication attempts of others. Aside from direct patient interaction, the Communication Studies program has assisted me in critically analyzing professional journal articles, succinctly writing patient evaluations and documenting in the medical record with appropriate detail, and in corresponding with physicians and other healthcare professionals. I owe a great deal of my professional success, as well as the success of my patients, to the education I received at Samford.

• Eliza Rhoads, '03 I'm now living in Durham, North Carolina and work for the American Red Cross in the department of Donor Resources Development. Majoring in Communication Studies gave me the tools I needed to know how to get media attention for the Red Cross, to speak to community groups and educate them on their needs, create newsletters, and much more. The broad nature of the Communication Studies degree worked to my advantage.

• Irisa Kahn, '02 I work for a television station in Birmingham, WABM 68. I absolutely love it. I am currently in television advertising sales. I do everything from contacting the clients to writing the scripts, and I help execute commercial production and put clients on the air. My internship in the Communication Studies department helped launch my career.

• Allison Banks, '01 I work for Southern Progress Corporation in the Custom Publishing division. I am an assistant projects editor for the Lowe's Creative Ideas magazine. I develop projects for the magazine, photo style, direct photo shoots, and work with freelancers. I even worked in television for a short time: I worked pre-production in the task department for Martha Stewart: The Apprentice show. My degree in Communication Studies gave me a solid foundation for these various career paths. It never fails that each day I use interpersonal, public speaking and writing skills I developed during my time at Samford.