Jeanette Harris-Courts
September 17, 2019
Jeanette Harris-Courts (2019)
During her time at Truman, Jeanette discovered her love for radio, writing, and event planning. She spent the summer after graduating teaching English in Taiwan and came back home to an internship at NPR Chicago for the weekly news game show, Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Now, she works for JCI (Junior Chamber International), a nonprofit partnered with the United Nations, where she writes and copyedits news stories and scripts. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling around the US and recording All That & a Bottle of Wine with her co-host, Lauren Goldberger.
What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?
I graduated in May 2014 with a Public Communication concentration.
What extra-/co-curricular activities did you do?
I was a Radio DJ for the short-lived, but lovely, Dobson Radio Club, a News Reporter for KTRM, Publicity Chair for the 2011 Homecoming Committee and Vice-Chairman for the 2012 Homecoming Committee. I worked for the Center for Student Involvement (CSI) and was in Alpha Sigma Gamma service sorority (quack, quack)!
Jeanette (right) and the 2011 Homecoming Committee.
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. Immediately after Truman, I moved to Taiwan and taught English and writing lessons to grade school students in various villages throughout Changhua City for four months.
What was your first job after graduation?
After returning from Taiwan, my first big girl job was at NPR in Chicago as the Production Intern for Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me. I assisted with the writing, production and editing of this weekly news game show.
Jeanette’s view from behind the scenes at Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me (2015).
What work do you do/What are you doing now?
I am a Communications Coordinator at a nonprofit in St. Louis called JCI (Junior Chamber International). Their mission is to provide young people with the tools they need to create grassroots projects that can make global impact.
My job is to gather information about these young active citizens and share their stories with the world. I write news stories, newsletters, press releases, speeches for our president and scripts for our biggest company event, JCI World Congress. I also copyedit any documents other departments draft for brand consistency purposes.
Jeanette (2nd from left) working for JCI in Goa, India (2018).
How has your Liberal Arts/COMM education helped you?
My liberal arts education helped me be flexible in the world of marketing. I’ve been able to write, edit audio, copyedit, interview, design, market for, and run events that may be as small as 25 attendees or even number in the thousands. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the unique style Truman and the COMM Department takes to shape their students.
Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you’re grateful you took it?
I hated Public Speaking with a passion. I was a Freshmen and shy and very uncomfortable with speaking out loud. I didn’t think COMM was for me because of this class, which led me down the road of switching my major one too many times that year until I made my way back to Barnett Hall. Now, I see how important this tool is and value the lessons I learned about effective communication.
What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?
Can I say graduation day? Because I’m going to say graduation day.
Academically, Truman was a challenge for me, but it was one that helped me grow and mature in a way that an easier university wouldn’t have. Earning that degree made all the sleepless nights and early mornings at Pickler totally worth it.
Jeanette and Dr. Marilyn Yaquinto at graduation (2014).
Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?
As a liberal arts university, Truman makes an effort to teach students to be well-rounded and encourages them to try new things outside of their major. Even as an Illinois transplant, it was more affordable for me to attend Truman than attending a school back at home. Although, Kirksville may not be the liveliest town, but it has a strong community vibe that has and forever will feel like my home away from home.
What would you say a COMM student should absolutely do while at Truman?
Work on campus! I worked and interned at the Center for Student Involvement (CSI) from Sophomore year until the day I graduated. I met so many people from different departments and I was able to apply the skills I learned in the COMM Department in the CSI.
Jeanette (left) and co-workers in the CSI (2012).
What advice would you give someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?
Two things: First, read the news and stay involved with improving your community.
Second, remember to write for yourself, not just for work. I worked a handful of jobs before JCI and I wasn’t writing about subjects I was passionate about. It took me looking at the writing and activities I was doing for fun to see what my true interests were. From there, I found a job that lined up with these interests.
What do you miss most about campus/Kirksville?
About the campus: I miss the feeling of community and being able to walk anywhere I needed to be in under ten minutes.
About Kirksville: La Pachanga on Tuesday’s and DuKum Inn on Thursday’s. 
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?
Modern Radio and Communication. It would be about the new wave of radio and communication, specifically podcasting and how this medium has changed the radio world as well as how to create a podcast.
What tag line would you create for the COMM department at Truman?
“Create Media, Create Yourself?”
Is that too cheesy? It is. I’m sorry. This is a hard question!
What did we not ask that you think is important for people to know?
I think we covered it all! Also, sorry again about the cheesy tagline. The more I look at it, the more I hate it. Stay in school, kids.
Jeanette working for JCI in Bonn, Germany (2018).
If you would like to learn more of Jeanette’s story, you can learn more on her website or you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Curious about her podcast called All That & a Bottle of Wine? It’s about 90’s and early 2000’s pop culture. Jeanette brags “Our biggest accomplishment was interviewing Tie Dye Girl from the 1998 classic, The Parent Trap.”