In honor of recent Homecoming festivities, this week’s campus celebrity is one of our very own JMU alumna! Desirae’s experience in the real world has been very successful thus far; she recently landed a position at a PR firm in California and loves her LA lifestyle. Check out her story and advice to students graduating in May!
HCJMU: Can you believe you’re an alumna of JMU? How is post-grad life?
Desirae: I still cannot believe I graduated from JMU. It is really surreal and they certainly were not kidding when they said that time would fly by; definitely cherish it! Post-grad life has been going great though! After attempting to move to NYC all summer, I found a position at Jolson Creative, a boutique PR firm in Westwood, (LA) California! I literally had about a week to make a decision, which is probably good since I don’t think I would have had the courage if I had more time to think about it! I was recently hired on full-time as a publicity assistant and I really feel like my life is like a movie! Some of the events I have worked on are the grand unveiling of the newly discovered Leonardo da Vinci “Horse and Rider” sculpture in Beverly Hills, the GBK Emmy Gift Lounge and a pair of films that premiered at the Hollywood Film Festival. I wake up every day and pinch myself; I am so grateful to have this opportunity and I feel like I am in a really great place in my life, especially career-wise, so that makes me very happy.
HCJMU: What were you involved in at JMU, and how has it helped you with your career path? What did you study?
Desirae: At JMU, I was a SMAD major concentrating in journalism and I minored in sport communication. I was involved in The Breeze’s old video department, Gamma Sigma Sigma and Her Campus mainly! I was also in Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) as a senior and I worked in Career & Academic Planning and Athletics Communications for my practicums!
SMAD has truly been amazing and I feel so prepared even though I decided not to go into journalism. There are a lot of cross-over skills that I am able to use every day and the foundation program (SMAD 101, 201, 202 and 301) has definitely given me an edge! It sounds funny but I really had no idea how prepared I was for my current job after graduation. I’ll go to do certain things and think back to when I learned them in 225 or 309. I was even able to help set up a red carpet shoot because of what I learned in photojournalism!
CAP was really helpful with finding a job and learning how to craft my resume and cover letter, as well as preparing me to go on interviews. Sign up for Mock Interviews through Recruit-A-Duke, they really are quite helpful! I was on the social media and publicity teams for HC JMU and that has been a key part of my job now (social media)! It is really interesting to see its impact from a professional standpoint now and I am really thankful that I got to work with awesome people at Her Campus while learning those skills also. PRSSA gave me so many great connections within a variety of PR industries and it really does matter who you know, so network, network, network!
HCJMU: What advice would you give to students here who are getting ready to graduate in May?
Desirae: I would suggest that they get involved in as many activities and organizations as possible! You will be surprised as to what skills you can use once you graduate and you will meet so many great people! I have met some of my closest friends from the organizations that I joined and it is also nice to be around people with your same interests! For the freshmen that are scared of joining clubs because you don’t know anyone, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. JMU really is one of the friendliest places on earth!
HCJMU: What do you miss most about JMU?
Desirae: What I miss most about JMU are my friends and the people. It amazes me sometimes, especially now that I am out in LA, that everyone isn’t as nice as they are at JMU!
HCJMU: Did you come back for Homecoming? What was it like being back on campus?
Desirae: Yes, I did! It was a little strange being on campus after being away for what felt like an eternity, but I felt right at home as soon as I got back! I always have a great time here and I can’t wait to come back. I literally love this place and am so happy to call it my home away from home!