Kelly (Fox) Barbeau
March 13, 2018
Kelly, Emma, and Josh (2017).
Kelly lives in Fenton, MO with her husband Josh and daughter Emma. After working towards a career in Event Planning, Kelly’s senior year Career Center internship inspired her to shift her focus to helping children attain a positive futures. Now a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Kelly uses her communication skills developed in her undergraduate studies on a daily basis to improve the lives of her students. When not at work, Kelly enjoys getting wrapped up in the circus that is American politics and cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals.
What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?
I graduated in 2011 with a concentration in Public Communication. I also minored in Sociology.
What extra/co-curricular activities did you do?
I was in Ad & PR club, College Democrats, and COMM Club (NCASC). I was also a member of the PR team and an Event Planning intern for the Career Center.
Did you go to grad school? If so, where? Was it immediately after Truman or did you wait? Why?
My senior year at Truman I was unsure of what path I wanted to take after graduation. While hosting an event for the Sociology Department for my Career Center internship, I met a social worker on the panel and was inspired by the idea of a career that made a meaningful impact on people’s lives. After volunteering for the Kirksville Head Start program and doing some more research, I decided to pursue my Master’s in Social Work the following year. I moved back home and attended the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis in the Fall of 2011.
Kelly right after graduation (May, 2011)
Looking back I often wonder if I should have waited a year before delving back into school. I would have liked to have had more hands-on experience that was outside of a classroom. Most students in my graduate program were older than me and had more life experiences that carried nicely into the graduate class work. But graduating with my master’s at 24 years old was nice too. Balancing school with a family would have been difficult.
What was your first job after graduation?
I was a Teacher’s Assistant for a therapeutic classroom for the Special School District (SSD) of St. Louis County. I worked with students in special education who were diagnosed with Emotional Disturbances. The pay was little but the experience and skills I acquired were instrumental to my success in the social work field. I also had practicums at a suicide prevention hotline (talk about on-the-job skill training!) and at St. Louis Arc, a nonprofit agency that works with individuals with developmental disabilities.
What are you doing now?
After one school year as a TA, I knew working with individuals with disabilities was the career path I wanted to take. I stayed with SSD in a new capacity as a School Social Worker. For four years I have worked in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. I provide individual and group counseling and consultative services to about 45 elementary and middle school students who receive special education services.
Why is Truman a good place to study?
Your classes are small, the professors know your name, and every alumnus I have ever met since leaving Truman has had nothing but great things to say about their alma mater. That speaks volumes. I’m so proud to say that I’ll forever be a Bulldog.
How has your liberal arts/COMM education helped you?
It provided such a well-rounded education. I was nervous going into graduate school with no social work experience but the classes I took at Truman allowed me to take concepts from liberal arts classes such as Ethics and apply it to my graduate work.
Which class did you dislike at the time that you took it but now grateful that you took it?
Communication theory. It was all lecture-based so I had to get to use to that type of classroom environment but it prepared me well for grad school. I also remember having a giant stack of note cards that I reviewed before every test. I definitely refined my study skills by the end of that class.
What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?
Kelly, Dr. Yaquinto, and Amanda at “Communication Showcase” (2011).
In our Public Relations class project for Dr. Johnson, another student and I came up with the idea of a “Communication Showcase” to celebrate the accomplishments of all areas of the Communication department. The following semester Dr. Yaquinto helped my partner and I make the class project into a reality. We loved taking something that was just for a grade and making it into an event. It also gave freshmen and sophomores the opportunity to see all of the amazing things in the department that they could be involved in.
The other project that comes to mind is “Adair Alerts”- a political blog centered around local politics that another student and I created for our Political Communication class. We were initially not thrilled. We may have been “stuck” covering Adair County politics, but we got some amazing political reporting experience. We had the opportunity to interview several local politicians, such as the Associate Circuit Judge and the Presiding Commissioner of Adair County. We were even promised a “first interview” from a candidate who was hopeful for a win. He didn’t win, but we were honored that he chose two Truman students to give that exclusive interview to if he had won.
What advice would you give for someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?
Don’t be intimidated if you want to go into something that was not specifically offered at Truman. Your liberal arts education will help you no matter what field you end up in.
What tagline would you create for the COMM department?
COMMunicate with the world (good thing I didn’t go into advertising).
What do you miss most about campus/Kirksville?
I loved that it was a relatively small campus. On nice days everyone hung out on the quad. I knew a lot of the cafeteria and maintenance workers by name. I miss and appreciate that small-town feel.
What would you say a COMM student should absolutely do while at Truman?
Kelly with friends and state Rep. Rebecca McClanahan at the Truman Homecoming Parade (2010).
Get involved. Look to your professors and department for guidance. I was Dr. Yaquinto’s student worker for three years and the advice and experience I got from her was invaluable. She helped me grow in so many ways and reassured me that changing career paths was possible. I also volunteered in the Communication Lab and spent many evenings in Barnett Hall for Ad & PR club or other various activities. My COMM department experience was very much enhanced because I was so involved in it.
If you could come back to Truman and teach a class for a semester, what would its title be and what would it be about?
My senior year at Truman two other students and I wanted to learn more about social media and how it fit in with social marketing (Facebook and other social media platforms were really taking off during my undergraduate studies). Professor Krause was nice enough to open a Special Topics class for us. It was so popular that his class of 3 became a class of 30! Clearly it was a relevant topic that students wanted to explore. Even though I have moved into the social work field I have found that a strong social media presence (like a solid LinkedIn page) is essential in any field.
What did we not ask you that’s important for people to know?
Don’t stress about deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life when you’re only 18. Your interests are going to change. The job market is going to change. You won’t know what you want to do until you get some experience under your belt. Therefore, internships should be an important part of your undergrad studies. Job experience and skill acquisition is key to successfully delving into the job market after college. And utilize the resources Truman offers—like the Career Center—to help you practice those post-college skills.
