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Marketing Assistant Miranda Hardesty

By: Dezaray Barr

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Hardesty and her friends on graduation day

Miranda Hardesty graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in 2017 with a degree in strategic communication from the Division of Communication & Theatre.

Hardesty attended IWU on a soccer scholarship. She said, “My sister was also attending IWU on the women’s soccer team, which helped to persuade me to accept an offer from the head coach. We were able to play side-by-side for two seasons… I originally was set to accept an offer from another school – so much so that I wasn’t even considering IWU. The week that my final decision was due, I really prayed that God would give me a clear head and that his will would be done. The next day, I woke up and went to school. I was sitting in math and decided I wanted to make a pro/ con list for college instead of work on per-calculus problems. I went home that day and shocked my parents when I told them that I was going to commit to IWU… and I never looked back.”

During her time at IWU, Hardesty stayed busy with classes, athletics, working in the nursing department and being an active member of IWU’s chapter of Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). She also said, “I met several life-long friends during my time at IWU, and even met my (soon-to-be) husband during my time as a student. One of my favorite parts about being a student at IWU was that I truly felt like I belonged and wasn’t just another number. My advisors and professors knew me by name and, more than that, they had an understanding of who I was as a person.” She said that her favorite part about being a student at IWU was McConn. She added, “I still order their coffee by the bags!”

Hardesty was fortunate enough to grow up in a faith-based family, but her time at IWU still impacted her faith. “I think when one is raised in such a strongly rooted Christian family, it’s easy for faith to become habitual rather than spiritual. You go to church because you were raised to and it is expected of you. By going away to school, I was able to make my faith my own,” she said. “I had wonderful professors who pushed and questioned their students. One professor in particular loved to play devil’s advocate whether he agreed with you or not. By challenging my faith, I was able to grow my faith. Now I have a stronger relationship than ever with the Lord and am secure in where I am in my walk with Him.”

Since graduation, Hardesty is now working as a marketing assistant with Ethos Apartments in her home town and is preparing to be relocated out of state. She explained how her faith impacts her work: “Working in the communications field, I have the ability to be the voice of a company. I get to help shape what comes to mind when people think of our company as well as highlight select activities and messages put out by others in the community. Being a part of an apartment complex, I work with a large number of residents and their families. I make it my personal goal to go to bat for those that I work with. I try to be a voice for them inside of our company meetings. I attempt to shine a light on and provide solutions for the problems that they bring to my attention.”

Some fun facts about Hardesty include that she is a proud chapstick lover, and she always has at least three with her! She’s getting married in September, she aspires to be a foster dog mom and since graduating, she has started taking Italian lessons!

If Hardesty could give advice to current IWU students, she’d say, “Network! It’s not a cop-out answer – it can change everything. There are so many people out there who genuinely want to help connect you to industry professionals… Stay flexible. Take a deep breath and remember that the sun will always rise in the morning.”

 

 

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Written by Dezaray Barr, PR Specialist for the Alumni Office. Dezaray is a senior Strategic Communication, Journalism and Honors Humanities triple major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College. Visit Dez’s website at www.dezaraybarr.weebly.com.

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Public Relations alum: Molly Harrington

By: Noelle Beans

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Molly Harrington

Molly Harrington graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) in 2015 with a degree in Public Relations. She grew up in the Wesleyan Church, so Wesleyan universities were always on her radar. Her sister attended IWU, so she had the chance to visit and get to know the campus while her sister pursued her degree. When it came time for her to visit colleges, Harrington followed her older sister’s footsteps. She personally felt at home at IWU, because it felt like a good fit.

As a student, Harrington became involved in Student Government Association, a few different jobs and eventually became a Diversity Coordinator for Martin Hall. Through these activities, opportunities and positions, she was led to a great group of friends as well as a well-rounded community.

Within the IWU community, Harrington grew spiritually. The fact that she was now on her own, no longer under her parents, had a significant effect on her. Harrington said, “I needed to learn what and why I believe in things for myself.” It was a slow process, but through friends, classes and a new church, she did just that: wrestled with her faith and made it her own.

Additionally, Harrington grew academically as IWU’s communication classes gave her real life experience. She believes the Division of Communication & Theatre does a great job of connecting students with organizations and people in the community for projects. It gave her the opportunity to learn how to be a professional in a “safe environment.”

Harrington’s career is now as the Director of Scheduling (employed by the United House of Representatives) for Congressman Paul Mitchell of Michigan. She creates and maintains his daily schedule, travel plans and other office manager duties. Harrington said, “I am his gatekeeper.” She admits the intersection between faith and career can be tricky, but in her work she chooses to form her beliefs and views on things from her faith and defends them from that position.

Where Harrington is at now was never where she expected. Growing up, she always wanted to be an interior designer, and now she has found herself in politics. “It is okay if your first job out of college isn’t in your degree,” Harrington said. She is not working in the PR field, but she loves what she does and knows that she is getting experience. Lastly, Harrington encouragingly expressed for current students that, “You will eventually make it to the field you studied in, but you aren’t a failure if you don’t start there.”

 

 

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Written by Noelle Beans, a writer for the Alumni Center. Noelle is a freshman Nursing and Honors Humanities double major at Indiana Wesleyan University in the John Wesley Honors College.

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Amanda Gubbins

By: Heather Cox

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Amanda Gubbins
Amanda Gubbins

Amanda Gubbins graduated in 2012 with a major in communication studies and a minor in Public Relations.

Gubbins grew up in Evansville, Indiana and when the time came to look at colleges, she began looking at Christian colleges. Unsure of exactly what it was she wanted to study, Gubbins started by looking at the communication programs offered at different schools. Her piano teacher had a daughter who had been at Indiana Wesleyan, and they told Gubbins a communication building had recently been built, and suggested she look into it.

Upon visiting IWU’s campus, Gubbins said she was very impressed with not only the communication program, but with the overall atmosphere of campus. Ultimately, she decided IWU would be a good fit for her, and her college search ended.

Gubbins had decided to look into communication studies because she had grown up around it. Her dad was a video guy, and she had always enjoyed media and writing, so she was looking for something which combined those gifts and talents together.

While living on campus, Gubbins was also involved with a variety of activities. She worked with the radio station for one semester, and also did things for the communication division, such as being a part of different panels that would take place. She was also very involved in residential life.

“I was always involved in residential life with my dorm. I worked at the desk for a couple different years. I never was an RA, but my junior year I was roommates with an RA, and we lived on a floor with all freshman girls, which was really fun because I got to be the big sister to the unit,” Gubbins said.

Gubbins while helping with the bike race.
Gubbins while helping with the bike race.

Gubbins also became involved with her church and the community of Marion. She began an internship with the City of Marion, working alongside the Marketing Director. She wrote a lot of press releases for community events, and was able to help with a bike race which was held every summer.

“I was working right in City Hall located downtown, so I got to know the area a little bit more and actually make friends with some of the people in the office,” Gubbins said. “It showed me a different side of Marion we didn’t usually see from campus, and gave me the opportunity to get off campus and try some different things.”

The biggest thing about IWU Gubbins appreciated, was how intentional professors and faculty were about teaching how to integrate faith into the workplace.

“Now I’m working full time, and I still find myself thinking back on those things we talked about,” Gubbins said. “What does it mean to be a world changer each day in everyday life, and when you are in the workplace how do you take those opportunities to live out your faith?”

Before graduating from IWU, Gubbins had hoped to become a Communication Director for a non-profit or a missions oriented organization. Though she is not currently in that position, she can still see herself doing that in the future.

Following graduation, Gubbins moved out to Southern California to join her family who had recently moved there. She became heavily involved in her church, volunteering with various things, when a friend from church recommended she looked into Specialized Equipment Market Association, or SEMA.

Gubbins took the opportunity and began as an administrative assistant at SEMA, doing a lot of event preparation. In addition to this, the company also wanted someone with writing skills to write a monthly column for the magazine they had.

Gubbins said IWU’s Digital Storytelling class within the Communication Department helped her gain this position, as she was able to show them a portfolio of her work including writing, photography and voiceovers.

“Through that, I got to start working with our publications team here because I connected with them and wanted to learn more about how to do that better,” Gubbins said. “I started working with them closely, and then it was about 2 ½ years later and a position opened up for Managing Editor for the monthly magazine so I got to start doing that too.”

Gubbins said she really loves what she is doing now, and could see herself doing humanitarian work or missions work in the future, using the skills she is developing at SEMA.

 

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Written by Heather Cox, guest writer for the Alumni Office. Heather is a Junior Journalism major at IWU. She is also the Editor of GrantCOnnected.net, a community news site run by IWU students. She is unsure of where life will take her after college, but she knows she never wants to stop writing!