Alyssa Aunspaugh
March 19, 2019
Alyssa Aunspaugh (2018).
Alyssa Aunspaugh is the Social Media Coordinator at Oakhill Day School in the Gladstone, MO. She works to tell the school’s story, boost fundraising efforts, and document the daily lives of the students through the power of social media. When she is not working, Alyssa enjoys watching Royals baseball, eating KC barbecue, going to concerts, and learning Presas Arnis (Editor’s note: We had to look it up as well. Don’t mess with Alyssa!).
What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?
I graduated in December of 2016 with a concentration in Public Communication and minors in Political Science and Justice Systems.
What extra-/co-curricular activities did you do?
I was involved in Lambda Pi Eta, the Political Science Student Association, Habitat for Humanity, served as Alumni Chair and Vice-President of Phi Sigma Pi, and was the Communications Director for Student Government.
Alyssa (3rd from right) and her Phi Sigma Pi friends (2015).
Did you go to grad school? If so, where? Was it immediately after you left Truman or did you wait? Why?
I have not attended grad school, although who knows what may happen in my future!
What was your first job after graduation?
Alyssa on the Missouri Capitol steps (2016).
Technically I’m in my first job after graduation, but my first job experience post-graduation was the Truman at the Capitol program the spring semester directly after graduation. I worked as the Communications Office Intern for the Spring 2017 session of the Missouri House of Representatives. I sat in the Press Gallery every day during session, wrote press releases and speeches for Representatives, and wrote Courtesy Resolutions to be handed out to members of the public. It was a great transition period between college and “adult” life, since Dr. Young still met with us every week and had check-ins, but we were generally left to work like any other professional in the building.
What work do you do/What are you doing now?
I currently work at Oakhill Day School, a private, non-profit elementary and middle school in the North Kansas City area. My official title is Social Media Coordinator, but my job encompasses photography, video, web design, publications, writing, and lot more. Our Marketing/Communications department consists of myself and the director, so we have to be ready to handle anything and everything, and our jobs are never the same day to day. During this school year alone, I have edited and produced DVD copies of our holiday musicals, helped start our school’s broadcasting program, and have become one of the experts for our virtual reality system.
How has your Liberal Arts/COMM education helped you?
I think the best thing my Liberal Arts and COMM education helped me with was being prepared for anything. Although there was definitely a learning curve when I started my jobs out of school, I still thought I had a strong base to begin with.
Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you’re grateful you took it?
Alyssa (right) and Rachael (left) at Clara’s wedding (2018). All three were COMM majors.
I was fortunate to generally enjoy all of my classes in the COMM Department. I suppose one that did not really pique my interest was Organizational Communication. Now, it has been intriguing for me to notice power dynamics, generational differences in formal and informal communication, and the ways people solve problems. I believe I am more aware of certain cultural aspects of my workplace thanks to what I learned from Dr. Kleine in that class, and that benefits my understanding where I fit in with everyone else and my ability to read situations.
What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?
I actually had two great accomplishments – my two major research papers. One was for the Iowa Caucus trip, which was a class research project and paper. The other was for my Political Science Methods class, which was all by myself. They both took all semester, had massive amounts of data collection and analyzing, and then the actual papers themselves. I turned my Political Science paper in for my Truman Portfolio, as it was the paper I was most proud of. When you work on anything that long (both in time and the physical length of the paper), it’s a relief when you finish, and you can’t help but be happy with it!
Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?
I think that Truman is a good balance of a lot of different things. It is big enough that you don’t know everyone, yet small enough you get to know the students and professors in your major well. I didn’t always like that I had to take all the liberal arts classes that I knew I wanted to avoid in my career (I am definitely not a science or math person, so biology and statistics weren’t fun for me), but I am glad I at least have a basic understanding of those topics, and can apply basic knowledge to situations as needed. I also had plenty of options with clubs and extracurriculars that I could try out a bunch of things, but didn’t feel bad if they weren’t a good fit either. You never run out of opportunities at Truman.
What would you say a COMM student should absolutely do while at Truman?
If you can, go on the Iowa Caucus trip! It is three years later and this Truman experience is the one that will always stick out in my mind! I spent almost 30 hours over three days in a van with about 7 other students and Dr. Yaquinto, going to political rallies for Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Donald Trump. I had the opportunity to meet Jeb Bush, Martin O’Malley, and President Bill Clinton (and super cool but not political: Josh Hutcherson), and talked to so many voters to learn about why they cared about the election and what was affecting their voting decisions. It is amazing how well-informed the voters in Iowa are, and how many personal connections they make with the candidates. We ate gas station food all weekend and barely got any sleep, but it was absolutely worth it. I loved the opportunity to perform a research study in the field, build relationships with my peers and my professors (including our nonsense in GroupMe), and then present our research at the Student Research Conference!
Four of the many, many, selfies/pics Alyssa took during her trip to the Iowa Caucuses (2016).
What advice would you give someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?
Two things: First, be prepared in a lot of different areas, even a basic knowledge goes a long way. My internship required a lot of writing, mostly for speeches and press releases, while my current job doesn’t require much of either of those. I didn’t expect to be doing photography and video, but I had a basic knowledge and learned the rest as I went. I think that even a basic knowledge of writing for press releases, publication design, photography, video, and social media will help any COMM student land a job.
Second, don’t be afraid to take examples of your work to an interview. My boss told me that although I didn’t have Adobe Photoshop or InDesign experience when I interviewed, since I showed her some of my work for Student Government that I did in Canva, she knew I at least had an understanding of layout and design, if not specifically those programs. Don’t be afraid to share your experience with different software, even if they aren’t the most popular ones being used in the field.
What do you miss most about campus/Kirksville?
The thing I probably miss about campus and Kirksville is probably the availability of everything so close! I loved having my friends, the library, professors, and yes, even Sodexo cafeterias only a few minutes away and right there when I needed them. There are a lot of resources in Kansas City, but between work and commute time, I don’t take full advantage of them.
What tag line would you create for the COMM department at Truman?
“The skills to get you anywhere you want to go!”
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 think I would call it Professionalism in the Workplace.
One of the best things about Truman: Puppies on the quad (2015)!
Sounds boring, I know, but I think that all the little tips and tricks I picked up from my professors along the way helped me get interviews and recommendations that lead to my current job. It is so important to make a good impressions, and that can be everything from knowing how to write a formal email to wearing appropriate clothing. Carrying yourself professionally, especially as a recent college graduate, goes a long way to presenting yourself as someone that others can take seriously.
What did we not ask that you think is important for people to know?
You think that college is the place where you’re going to get it all figured out, and some people do. But it’s also okay for you to get out, get a job, and realize that what you thought you wanted isn’t the right thing. There’s no way to know that until you’re doing it. You’re not alone, and you’ll figure it out eventually, so don’t be afraid to take risks and try new things!