Anne Luckey
January 25, 2022
Anne Luckey (2021)
Anne Luckey is 25 and lives in St. Louis City. Thanks to her internships, she was able to graduate in 3 years. She is currently a Communications Specialist at St. Louis REALTORS®, and has a small candle business on the side (Wix & Wax Candles). She lives with her boyfriend Mike, who is also a Truman grad, yet they never actually went to school at the same time. She is obsessed with her cat Reno, collecting houseplants, and taking frequent trips to the Missouri Botanical Garden.
What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?
I graduated in August 2017 with a concentration in Public Communication and a minor in Spanish.
What extra-/co-curricular activities did you do?
I was a member of Phi Sigma Pi and Delta Zeta and was a Spanish tutor for 100 and 200-level classes.
Anne hanging out at Woody’s (2016).
Did you go to grad school? If so, where? Was it immediately after you left Truman or did you wait? Why?
I have not yet attended grad school, but I am considering applying to UMSL for an MBA program! The reason is – I’d like to go into management at some point in my career, and I’ve learned that the more certification/education someone has, the more employers are more likely to promote/invest in you, and you’re perceived as more “hirable.” Having a graduate degree sets a candidate apart from those who don’t.
What was your first job after graduation?
My immediate first job was bartending (both at Woody’s and at a bar coincidentally named Truman’s in Columbia), but my first “big girl” job was as a Social Media/Marketing & Recruitment Coordinator for a staffing firm (Staffing Solutions, Inc.) in Clayton, MO.
What work do you do/What are you doing now?
Now, I am a Communications Specialist for St. Louis REALTORS®. I do a lot of writing and marketing-related communications. I manage social media, write newsletters and blogs, plan events, administrate and help develop our new website, produce podcasts, and really any task that has to do with communicating! In addition, I’ve recently started my own side hustle with – creating and selling candles (Wix & Wax Candles).
Anne (center) and friends living their best life out behind Barnett Hall (2015).
How has your Liberal Arts/COMM education helped you?
Above all, a Liberal Arts/COMM education has taught me how to write well, effectively communicate with others, and think critically. Every company in the world needs people who can do these three things. My education at Truman, particularly within the COMM Department, has prepared me so well for life and work after college. I couldn’t be happier with my decision to study COMM at Truman!
Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you’re grateful you took it?
Organizational Communication. At the time, the content seemed abstract and boring, but wow – that class taught me so much and prepared me for what different work environments would be like. The more you understand how a company/group of people operates and gets stuff done, the better you can adapt to and succeed in that environment.
What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?
My greatest accomplishment at Truman was the ability to have two summer internships (within the COMM Dept.), which granted me 11 credit hours (across those two internships) which allowed me to graduate within three years.
Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?
Truman sets expectations high. It’s a competitive environment, which is something that you grow accustomed to as a student. It may feel like this is what the rest of your life will be, but when you graduate and get a job, you realize that the hard work from college totally prepared you for beginning a career. From what I’ve experienced, most people don’t work as hard as Truman students/graduates. I’m constantly surprised by how other people don’t have the same work ethic/drive that Truman folks do – and believe me – it will totally benefit you in the workplace.
PS. I just read this answer aloud to my boyfriend, and he remarked, “Truman is like bowling with the bumpers up – when you get to the real world, the bumpers come down.”
What would you say a COMM student should absolutely do while at Truman?
Get an internship. I can’t stress this enough! Find an internship that interests you and grants you college credit. Like I said earlier about having a graduate degree – the more experience and education you have, the more likely you are to get hired for a job. Also, the skills you’ll pick up at an internship will not only help you in school, but will give you a better idea of what you want to do (and just as importantly, don’t want to do) after you graduate. An internship gives you a taste of the “real” world, and you can often get paid for doing it!
Anne today (2021)
Build your network. Even if you don’t know exactly what you’re interested in doing, there are TONS of Truman/COMM grads that would be happy to talk to you, even if you just want to know about what their day-to-day job is like. This also can really help you when you start looking for a job/internship. Even if you don’t talk to them again for three years, they’re going to remember that a Truman COMM student (who’s probably a harder worker/more motivated than most people at their workplace) reached out to them, and will likely think of you when there’s a job opening. Make a LinkedIn account while you’re still in school, connect with everyone you know at Truman. You never know how it may benefit you in the future!
Also, engage with your professors, especially your COMM professors. They are brilliant, experienced, and they WANT to help you. This will benefit you when you’re applying to jobs and need a letter of recommendation – especially if you’ve built a solid relationship with them. Once again, you never know how this might benefit you down the line when you’re looking for a job!
What do you miss most about campus/Kirksville?
I miss the culture of openness in Kirksville. It sounds strange, but there was this vibe that everyone at Truman was “suffering through” together – we were all working hard to do well in our classes, learn how to take care of ourselves, figure out who we were, and obviously, have a good time in college. Because of that, there was an atmosphere of honesty and sincerity in Kirksville that I haven’t found elsewhere (aside from within my group of Truman grad friends). People weren’t scared to be weird and be totally themselves, which is a really rare sentiment to find.
What tag line would you create for the COMM department at Truman?
“Join us in the COMM department – where you’re taught how to ‘adult.’”
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 never took any marketing classes at Truman, but that’s a big part of my job, and it intertwines so much with anything COMM-related in the corporate world. So, I would probably like to teach a Corporate Writing class – where you learn what kind of vocabulary/phrasing to use in copywriting for newsletters, blogs, social media posts, and how to change your tone/writing for different audiences. How you’d write an email to a colleague vs. your boss vs. a customer/client. I’d want to emphasize how to perceive little social cues and nuances and how you should adjust your communication in response.
I’d also want to teach Resume Writing! This would have been a beneficial course for me at Truman. I think it’s important for students to leave college with a polished resume and a great understanding of what language and skills employers are looking for. Students should also know how to adjust and tweak their resumes for each position they submit them for.
What did we not ask that you think is important for people to know?
I think you covered all the bases! This was a very thorough survey… it reminded me of those long, grueling assignments that Dr. Self liked to give out when I was in school. Honestly, I haven’t worked this hard on a project in a while!
If you would like to learn more of Anne’s story, you can follow her on LinkedIn or check out her candle business on Etsy.