{"id":930,"date":"2019-01-15T00:00:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T00:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/?p=930"},"modified":"2020-04-21T23:52:42","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T23:52:42","slug":"shetler20190115","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/2019\/01\/15\/shetler20190115\/","title":{"rendered":"Allie Shetler"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Allie Shetler (2018)<\/p><\/div>\n

Allie Shetler currently works in Communications and Member Services at Tri-County Electric Cooperative<\/a> (TCEC) in Lancaster, MO. Prior to joining TCEC, Allie interned at their national headquarters<\/a> in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2015. There she learned the importance of the cooperative industry and the community it builds in rural America. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family, friends and listening to her favorite crime and storytelling podcasts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What year did you graduate and what was your concentration?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I graduated from Truman in December of 2015. My concentration was Public Communication<\/a> with a minor in English<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What extra-\/co-curricular activities did you do?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I was a member of Tau Lambda Sigma<\/a>, a local service and social sorority that came together to volunteer at various non-profit organizations within the community. I was also active within the Communication Department while at Truman State. I helped as an advertising coordinator for the university\u2019s newspaper, The Index<\/a>, administered fundraisers for communications scholarships, and even hosted a radio show with my sister on KTRM<\/a> \u2013 shout out to The Shetler Sisters!<\/em><\/p>\n

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Allie (left) and her sister Amanda during their hit KTRM show, The Shetler Sisters<\/em> (2013).<\/p><\/div>\n

Did you go to grad school? If so, where?\u00a0 Was it immediately after you left Truman or did you wait?\u00a0 Why?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

No, I haven\u2019t . . . yet! I wanted to take some time off to figure out where exactly my interests would take me. I may wait a few more years, honestly. It\u2019s a work in progress.<\/p>\n

What was your first job after graduation?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

My first job after graduation is still my current job. I actually just celebrated my three-year work anniversary on January 11th<\/sup>!<\/p>\n

What work do you do\/What are you doing now?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

One thing that really attracted me to the industry that I\u2019m currently in, is that I\u2019m able to wear so many hats. Every day is different, and I\u2019m never bored. On one end I\u2019m able to do graphic design work, digital and print content creation, etc., and on the other, I\u2019m out helping with economic development projects, grassroots committees, community outreach demonstrations.\u00a0 It\u2019s very rewarding.<\/p>\n

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Allie (left) and a co-worker repping TCEC in a local classroom (2017).<\/p><\/div>\n

How has your Liberal Arts\/COMM education helped you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll always hear through your COMM studies, that \u201cyou cannot do any job without communication.\u201d\u00a0 Working in a highly technical field, there is definitely a learning curve; however, more often than not, I find myself pulling on what I\u2019ve learned at Truman to help me.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the Liberal Arts\/COMM education assisted me in becoming a much better writer and public speaker \u2013 two things crucial to my daily job.<\/p>\n

Which class did you dislike at the time you took it, but now you\u2019re grateful you took it?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Communication Theory<\/a>. At the time I couldn\u2019t see how taking a theory class was going to be pertinent to the working world unless I decided to switch my emphasis over to graduate studies. Now, similar forms of comm theory are taught at a few of the conferences I attend and are specific to the industry I work in. Having this knowledge makes targeting messages for our membership much easier during these meetings.<\/p>\n

What was your greatest accomplishment at Truman?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

My parents would probably say me actually graduating 😉\u00a0.\u00a0 Ha!<\/p>\n

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Allie and her family celebrating her graduation in Red Barn Park (2015).<\/p><\/div>\n

In all seriousness, my greatest accomplishment is that I was able to walk away with mentors that not only helped me become the woman I am today, but continue to offer guidance to me whenever I need it. This is my greatest accomplishment because it offers me the chance to continue learning from them in other aspects of life. It also proves just how dedicated these professors are to seeing their students succeed in life \u2013 so thank you!<\/p>\n

Why is Truman a good place for a student to study?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Truman really has something for everyone. When I came to Truman, I was a double major in Business Administration<\/a> \u2013 with a focus on International Business<\/a> \u2013 and German<\/a>. I spent my first two years determined to continue down this path.\u00a0 It was not for me.<\/p>\n

It was through the KTRM<\/a> radio show my sister and I did when I realized, Public Communication<\/a> was the best fit. I restarted my entire major and minor over the first semester of my Junior year and it was the best decision I have ever made.<\/p>\n

What would you say a COMM student should absolutely<\/u> do while at Truman?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Get involved within the COMM Department. There are so many opportunities available and I kick myself for not being more involved when I was a student. \u00a0Also, never be afraid to go to office hours. They are a lot more beneficial than you think!<\/p>\n

What advice would you give someone who wants to go into the same line of work as you?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Allie (right) and colleagues at a conference (2017).<\/p><\/div>\n

In the electric industry there are a lot of unexplained outages due to weather, so our social media page often needs to reflect that \u2013 no matter the time of day. Additionally, many community outreach programs take place during the evening or on the weekends. My point is that most communication positions are not 9-to-5. You have to be willing to show up early, stay late, and work some weekends. This may seem daunting, but if you get in the habit of treating school like a future job, you\u2019ll already be that much farther ahead.<\/p>\n

What do you miss most about campus\/Kirksville?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I still live in Kirksville\u2026 am I qualified to answer this question?\u00a0 (Editor’s note<\/em>:\u00a0 That is a fair point . . .)<\/p>\n

What tag line would you create for the COMM department at Truman?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe medium is the message.\u201d\u00a0 (Editor’s note<\/em>:\u00a0 That one has already been claimed.\u00a0 Still, shout out to Marshall McLuhan<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

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?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I would love to have a \u201cCreative Placemaking and Marketing\u201d class. Creative placemaking can transform a community through the use of unconventional and unprecedented perspectives to attract creative minds, retain and recruit young people and boost its economy. Students would spend the semester setting in motion a strategic marketing plan, implementing a creative project and present their results as their final.<\/p>\n

What did we not ask that you think is important for people to know?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The COMM department is a family. Many of us are still very close and are always willing to help current\/future students out. Additionally, as an alumna that currently lives in Kirksville, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I\u2019m always willing to help out.😊<\/p>\n

If you would like to learn more of Allie’s story, you can follow her on Instagram<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, or\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you want to learn more about the Department of Communication, contact us!<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Allie Shetler currently works in Communications and Member Services at Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) in Lancaster, MO. Prior to joining TCEC, Allie interned at their national headquarters in Washington, D.C. during the summer of 2015. There she learned the importance of the cooperative industry and the community it builds in rural America. Outside of work, … Read More →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":497,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50608],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-watdn"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/497"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=930"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1869,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/930\/revisions\/1869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.truman.edu\/commspotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}