Becca Landwehr
February 20, 2018
Becca Landwehr (2017).
Becca Landwehr is a design thinker, problem finder, and multipotentialite. A designer with OPX, a design consultancy, Becca has experience in workplace strategy, commercial design, and teaching at the university level. Becca has also worked in social media and brand strategy, publication design, event planning, and facilities management. She regularly mentors emerging design students and serves on the Advisory Board for the George Washington University Interior Architecture + Design Program. In her spare time, she plays competitive volleyball, scours for hidden gems at thrift stores, and enjoys a contemplative glass of wine on her patio in Arlington, VA.
What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?
May 2009; BA in Public Communication with a minor in Art History.
What extra-/co-curricular activities did you do?
Becca (top row, right) and her ΑΓΔ roommates (ca. 2007).
I was a Student Ambassador/campus tour guide for prospective students. I was also in Ad and PR Club, the Campus PALS mentor program for Kirksville Youth, and I held several executive positions in ΑΓΔ Sorority.
Did you go to grad school? If so, where? Was it immediately after you left Truman or did you wait? Why?
Yes; I pursued my Master of Fine Arts in Interior Architecture + Design at The George Washington University and graduated in December 2014.
I’m going to save the why question for after Question 4 in the interest of telling my story chronologically….
What was your first job after graduation?
It’s funny – looking back on my first job, it truly combined my two expanded fields of study at Truman (Communication & Art History), along with my initial pursuit of Political Science – I was an intern-turned-Outreach Coordinator at the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH). The Washington Center for Internships through the Truman in Washington program got me to DC after graduation.
DCCAH is a local DC city government agency that supports local artists and arts organizations through grants from federal sources (like the NEA) and local taxpayers. My boss, Gloria Nauden, wanted to break the mold of the arts agency and change what it meant to support the arts. DC’s rich cultural landscape outside of the National Mall just wasn’t being talked about. We conducted interviews, hosted salons at openings, and started a city government blog. In 2009, government agencies didn’t have Twitter accounts or Facebook pages. That was my first task – to set up those accounts and grow DCCAH’s reach.
The best way to get a job is to have a job – and do great work at that job. In the three months of my internship, DCCAH leadership created a position to keep me on board after my internship was formally completed. I got to write my own job description. At the time, there was no “outreach coordinator” – I saw a void where my skills could be of service, and I fit myself in.
Gloria’s abstract, out-of-the-box thinking was something I learned at Truman, so I felt at home with the unknown and the uncomfortable in a work environment that was constantly evolving.
Why go back to grad school?
I decided to go back to school because I was looking for more. I needed some direction post-undergrad. The greatest thing about a liberal arts degree is your ability to do many things; however you are faced with a constant battle on whether to “generalize” or “specialize.” I chose to generalize.
I went back to school after a series of jobs that left me with the desire to make money coupled with the desire to pursue my creative endeavors on my own terms. Grad school helped me realize that the two poles actually needed to be combined. I needed to make money in my creative endeavors, because that fuels me. So in the midst of my post-college adolescence, I reflected on my experiences:
• Creating art was intimidating, but I knew that I loved the meaning, concept, contextual commentary and symbology behind the creative process.
• Communication at Truman taught me the value of the human connection, and the value of analysis. It also taught me the power of the message and the understanding that comes with it.
Becca sketching on site in London (2013).
At the time, I was working as a facilities manager at a defense contractor. In 2011, the company was on the brink of a major renovation-in-place at their headquarters in Northern Virginia. As the facilities manager, I was the go-to person for the day-to-day operations of the project. After really digging into the renovation project, I had my “ah-ha” moment. What if I could pursue this design thing professionally? My Communication background taught me the value of that human connection.
Enter…. My creative pursuit. My lightning bolt moment. With my Art History minor, Publication Design & Layout (thanks Don Krause!) from Truman, along with my portfolio from DCCAH’s artist publication, I was able to wave the first prerequisites. So I went to grad school. I learned about myself in ways I never thought possible. I learned to embrace how complicated life is, and how its beauty lies in its complexities. I got a second chance as a professional. I honed my liberal arts passion into design.
I am an advocate of getting out of school, out of your own convention of normal, and working for a few years until pursuing additional education – especially if you’re like me and still don’t know what you want to be when you grow up. Part of both the beauty and the terror of a liberal arts degree is that you can do anything… Truman empowered me to pursue things I was interested in, and I magically ended up with a degree. Life since graduating Truman has been a series of “growth mindset” experiences, where I’m pursuing new fields of study both formally and informally; along with honing those interests into the day-to-day of my life.
What work do you do/What are you doing now?
I’m a designer with OPX, a workplace consultancy, in Washington, DC. We make good companies work better – that’s our bread and butter. My work involves design implementation (drawing, construction work), client strategy, along with internal marketing and business development efforts. We’re a small firm where all of us pitch in across a lot of different areas. OPX was a natural fit for me after both my graduate and undergraduate education. The culture of lifelong learning is palpable here at OPX, much like at Truman.
An OPX project that Becca helped design (2016). Look who is in the office on the left.
How has your Liberal Arts/COMM education helped you?
Immensely. And more than I can ever understand or convey!
Relationships are key to any design endeavor. If you can’t empathize, relate, or understand clients…. You can’t prescribe a remedy. Design thinking hinges on that empathy. It allows us to find the problem that the client can’t see. The liberal arts posture allows me to seek out sources, experts, investigate across disciplines, and understand problems with a multifaceted approach unlike any other mode of education.
The liberal arts model of education has positioned me for a growth mindset as a designer. When someone asks me to solve a problem for them, I can answer yes, and…what else? Many designers with a traditional design education are limited by the technical skills they can ascribe to their toolkit. Thanks to the liberal arts mindset, my toolkit is always expanding.
Communication is about understanding and conveying. You can’t convey unless you understand. And to understand, that takes a lot of brain power. Much like good design, good communication seems easy. The process isn’t easy, but the end result makes it look so obvious. You wouldn’t even know it’s there.
Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you’re grateful you took it?
Becca (center) and friends (ca. 2008).
Media Criticism. I actually liked it initially because it seemed easy. Watching movies and talking about them – what could go wrong? Then Dr. Elizabeth Clark cracked her whip on us. Now I can’t consume any media (TV, news, print, podcast, or otherwise) without asking more questions – consider the source, what is really being conveyed? How does context play a role in this piece? In today’s environment where everyone and everything is a news source, it’s helpful to have the skills to not just take something at face value.
Oh, and Public Speaking. I’m so glad this is required of all Truman students. Formulating a position, delivering a message, and receiving constructive feedback are critical skills for every knowledge worker in today’s work environment.
What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?
My greatest accomplishment at Truman had to be positioning myself to take risks – and be unapologetic about them. The person I was after high school would not have recognized the person I was after college.
I came to Truman somewhat shy, unsure of what I wanted to be when I grew up, and insecure. My loud haircut and outward appearance might have convinced you otherwise, but I was very unsure of myself. I put immense pressure on myself to declare a profession (not a major), and I got lost along the way. Then I took a COMM class to fulfill my liberal arts mode.
Left: Becca studying abroad in Greece (2007). Right: Becca studying abroad in London (2013).
There was something about the COMM faculty that embodied the liberal arts mindset. Like I said before, I kept taking classes that were interesting to me, and I ended up with a degree. The COMM faculty gave me confidence in my thinking and ability to convey ideas and concepts – something that has benefited me more than I ever imagined. It’s okay to explore, to understand, and to hone your interests – and not become a profession, but to become a person.
Dr. Diane Johnson was supportive when I wanted to take a class in nonprofit management with the Theatre department – a pilot class taught by Theatre faculty that combined COMM students with Theatre students to form a nonprofit theater company. How cool is that? You don’t have the combining of so many disciplines like that at larger schools, or even within other faculty at Truman. In hindsight, it was pretty incredible.
The faculty empowered me to find myself throughout many different avenues – as mentors, as professors, as friends. They’re all so multifaceted and talented in so many areas – they really are an inspiring collective!
What would you say a COMM student should absolutely do while at Truman
Get outside the COMM department to better serve Truman. There is immense talent in the COMM student body that can benefit other departments, organizations, groups, etc. on campus.
Life after college is all about relationships. If you can prove you initiated a relationship to provide a service to an entity in need, you will be on your way to serving the world.
What advice would you give someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?
Education, experience, and work is never lost. You can continue to build upon your body of work, and you should. In hindsight, everyone’s story makes complete sense. But at the time when it’s unraveling, it’s a little scary. Embrace that chaos. Trust the chaos.
Always say yes when an opportunity presents itself. It may not be immediately obvious as to how it will benefit you, but it will. Life is a series of events that inform one another. Don’t be afraid to stick your neck out and look around once in awhile – so when something pops up, you see it – and can capitalize on it.
Learn to embrace discomfort. If you’re comfortable, you’re not learning. If you’re not satisfied with something, work to make it better.
Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?
Becca keeping up a college relationship. She and Sara have coffee every Christmas (2016).
Truman is great because it is an oasis – the size is just right where you can walk around campus and know 1-2 people, or no one at all. It is its own little enclave of academia all contained in this charming little town. It’s isolated but still accessible to the world – and has a growing reputation. The liberal arts mindset is unlike any other education, and it will continue to form more contributing members of society. We need more of us in the world!
What do you miss most about campus/Kirksville?
The constant connectivity. I loved being able to walk around and at least meet an acquaintance in the Kirksville community or campus. DC can sometimes feel like that in different saturations, but I miss the tight-knit feel. And getting to see your friends every day! Friendships are harder to maintain once you graduate from college.
What tag line would you create for the COMM department at Truman?
“Small town feel, real world connection.”
If you could come back to Truman and teach a class for a semester, what would be its title and what would it be about?
COMM 102: Communication as a Liberal Art
Unpacking the power of communication as a way of thinking – not just public speaking. As communicators, how can we bring the spirit of the liberal arts into our modus operandi
Communicating Identity – Starting with Self
How can you be expected to communicate for others if you cannot communicate who it is that you are? One of the hardest things as humans is to talk about ourselves. This course would dissect the notion of an identity package and teach students to communicate about themselves in written, visual and social media outlets in order to convey themselves in the wide world. Networking exercises, graphic capability and presenting skills would all be touched upon! For graduating seniors. 
What did we not ask that you think is important for people to know?
Becca (right) with Truman friends in DC (2010).
Some of the best advice I ever received was not to burn bridges. It’s taken a bit for that to sink in (and I almost burned a number of bridges); but always maintain relationships, even if it’s not immediately apparent why. DC is such a small town – it’s uncanny how connected people are across industries, disciplines and organizations. The same could be said about the wide world. Just look at the depth of the COMM alumni. You never know who you are connected to through one or more degree of separation. Hone your networks and your “tribe” and really understand them. You never know when you need a favor; and always be willing to return that favor.
In Fall 2016, Becca helped initiate the first-ever Work Better Day, a movement that allows people to voice their ideas, inspire one another with stories, and explore what it means to work better. They published their findings here.
If you would like to hear more of Becca’s story, you can find her on Twitter, Instagram, Medium, and Facebook. Becca also manages the Twitter, Instagram, Medium, and Facebook accounts for OPX.