Jennifer (Riebold) Hess
February 27, 2018
Jen at graduation (2011).
Jennifer has been happily employed at Scott Credit Union for nearly seven years, currently as the Community Relations Supervisor. She has represented the credit union on a variety of Chamber of Commerce, civic, and charity boards/committees. Jennifer was a founding member of the credit union young professionals group CU*Reach and currently serves on the board for the Downtown Belleville YMCA. Jennifer is also currently pursuing her master’s in organizational communication at SIU-Edwardsville, with an expected graduation of May 2019. Jennifer resides in St. Jacob, IL, with her husband of three years, two cats, and a dog.
What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?
2011 – Public Communication
What extra-/co-curricular activities did you do?
Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity, Tau Lambda Sigma, Circle K International, Truman Ad & PR Club, intern for the Truman PR Office (senior year), copy editor for The Index (senior year).
Did you go to grad school? If so, where? Was it immediately after you left Truman or did you wait?
I’m currently pursuing my master’s in organizational communication at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. This interest was sparked after working closely with employees and becoming more interested in human resources and internal communication. I wouldn’t have been aware of this interest directly out of college, plus I was eager to rediscover the meaning of “free time” after graduation! Since my employer pays 100% of my tuition (and let’s be honest, I love school), I knew it was something I wanted to eventually pursue.
What was your first job after graduation?
Community Relations Representative at Scott Credit Union
What work do you do/What are you doing now?
Jen at Busch Stadium with Cardinals pitcher Trevor Rosenthal and coworkers (2017).
Community Relations Supervisor at Scott Credit Union – I am responsible for planning and executing my organization’s corporate social responsibility efforts. This involves managing our budget, forming mutually beneficial partnerships with community organizations, overseeing our employee volunteer program and financial education initiatives, and supervising two community relations representatives. Additionally, I coordinate our annual golf tournament benefiting the United Way of Greater St. Louis, as well as other company events. As part of our marketing department, I also contribute ideas to our overall marketing promotions and initiatives.
How has your Liberal Arts/COMM education helped you?
Naturally, I utilize the skills I developed in the COMM program on a daily basis. My communications with my employees and volunteers must be thorough, articulate, persuasive (especially when it comes to volunteer recruitment!) and tailored to their needs. While it is far from my favorite skill, public speaking is a recurrent part of my job. Of course, this background also strongly influenced my decision to pursue communication on the graduate level. The theoretical basis of such classes as Communication Theory and Experimental Methods has made that transition simpler.
Within the event planning world, not a day goes by where a logical, well-developed plan doesn’t blow up and require my immediate attention. The critical thinking and problem-solving skills I learned at Truman are crucial for such challenges. Though my job revolves mostly around written communication, it also incorporates aspects of other disciplines such as accounting (budgeting) and information technology (managing intranet content). Having been exposed to and developed an appreciation for other fields helps me immensely in this capacity. To me, one of the greatest assets of a liberal arts education is the confidence to take on challenges that are outside of my comfort zone, and to both understand and appreciate the perspectives that accompany them.
This confidence has helped me at work. For example, a financial education workshop I helped develop in partnership with the Girls Scouts of Southern Illinois has been selected among 1,100 entries to receive a national award. I will accept the award on behalf of my credit union at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) Marketing & Business Development Council Conference in San Francisco in March.
What would you say a COMM student should absolutely do while at Truman?
Jen at the Cliffs of Moher during her study abroad (2009).
Participate in as many extra-curricular activities as possible, applying the communication skills you develop in the classroom in tangible ways. Acting as the service chair of my fraternity helped me to develop the event planning, volunteer management and relationship building skills that ultimately earned me my job.
Also, studying abroad is a MUST. Never again will you have a more immersive or cost-effective opportunity to experience other cultures and perspectives.
Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you’re grateful you took it?
At the time, I despised COMM 392: Experimental Methods, namely due to my distaste for statistics; however, looking back, this was one of the most close-knit group projects I participated in, and the sense of accomplishment for our team upon its conclusion was immense.
Ironically, I ended up in the graduate version of this class five years later, and have Truman to thank for the solid foundation which prepared me for it. The graduate research that came out of that class was recently accepted to the International Communication Association’s 68th Annual Conference, which will be held in Prague in May 2018. The study explores how the motives an employee attributes to their employee volunteer program influence their volunteer habits and consisted of responses from credit union professionals from across the country.
What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?
Jen and a friend at a football game (2010).
I co-chaired a charity dance marathon for Phi Sigma Pi during my senior year. While I was involved with smaller events, this was the first time I claimed complete ownership, including advertising, recruiting sponsors, volunteers and participants, and planning and managing the logistics of the event itself. This event earned my fraternity national recognition and was one of the experiences I referenced most within my job interview.
Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?
Truman is small enough that it is easy (and almost necessary) to get involved in campus activities. As someone who was initially more reserved (for those wondering, introverted COMM majors DO exist!), this was a fantastic opportunity for me to come out of my shell and grow as a person. It was also important to me to be around other motivated students and not feel ostracized for taking school seriously. While there are plenty of opportunities to socialize on campus, students are just as willing to hang out in the student union or in the library.
What advice would you give someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?
Get as much hands-on experience as possible. My entry-level position required six months of experience, which I would not have possessed without my internships and campus leadership. Take advantage of internship opportunities.
Jen visiting with Travis, Joseph Baldwin, Heidi, and Deanna during Homecoming (2017).
Mine was one of my most useful and enjoyable experiences at Truman (Thank you, Heidi, Travis, and Deanna!). Plus, waking up and dressing for a 40-hour workweek is invaluable practice for the real world!
What do you miss most about campus/Kirksville?
Truman/Kirksville is truly the place “where everybody knows your name.” I have been lucky enough to visit Truman several times since graduation. I still get the same warm feeling whether I am visiting professors or former coworkers, or walking with old friends across campus.
What tag line would you create for the COMM department at Truman?
“COMM see what the hype’s about” 
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?
I would be interested in teaching a Corporate Social Responsibility course, since this was an area I knew next to nothing about as an undergrad. Thanks to Professor Krause, I have shared some of my experiences in community relations with his PR classes. Hopefully that has shed some light to those students!
What did we not ask that you think is important for people to know?
Because COMM is such a broad major, take advantage of Truman’s other course offerings to dabble or specialize in other areas. For example, I minored in English simply because I enjoyed writing. Simultaneously having to compose wordy essays as well as concise press releases made me a more versatile and effective writer.
If you have other interests, don’t be afraid to explore how COMM can complement them. So many of my communication peers have ended up in other fields: education, social work, marketing, divinity, etc. Taking other classes will help you develop your interests and maybe even give you a head start for graduate school.