Alexander Pyles has recently taken on the communications manager position at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. David Ottalini held this position prior to his retirement.
Pyles explains that he knew at some point he would have wanted to “transition into academia, working for this college.” “I believe so strongly in its mission in training journalists,” he said. So, when the opportunity presented itself, he applied and got the job.
“I’ve been here nine days … My job is to make sure those stories get out, to write about journalism, to write about journalism education and help prospective students, alums, current students, faculty, staff learn about the college and tell their story,” he said.
Pyles graduated from UMBC in 2009, but went on to pursue his master’s at UMD’s journalism school. He received his master’s in 2011. His reason for pursuing journalism in the first place was because he “loved the idea of telling stories.”
On the topic of his decision to pursue a master’s degree, Pyles keeps it real. “Just to be completely honest, it was a recession and there weren’t a lot of jobs. So I came here,” he said. “But also … I thought of myself primarily as a writer and I realized that there were a lot of skills that I was going to need to be more competitive in the job market that in some ways was shrinking and in other ways–this is as true now as it was then–was expanding.”
Pyles appears to keep coming back to the journalism school. Shortly after receiving his master’s in 2011, he was asked to come back to teach JOUR352, “Interactive Design and Development.” He started teaching the class in the spring of 2012 and is now the communication manager.
When asked what he liked the most about the journalism school, Pyles said “the people.”
“I loved my cohort, my classmates here; I loved my professors, most of which I stayed in contact with, and I walked in the door here nine days ago for this job and it was like I had never left,” he says. “It was a feeling like, ‘Okay, you’re home now.’ This is the place that really launched my career because of the people who taught me and who I worked with.”
One of Pyles’ professors even inspired his life motto: Be kind to everyone. “I had a professor here–who’s still here, Ira Chinoy–who said in a class once that you know really nothing good comes of being nasty to people–and he was talking about trying to get public records out of government officials … and I was already of that mindset, but that just resonated with me in such a way that I don’t think it will ever stop sticking and it’s the way he said it … So I think just being kind to everyone is important.”
To the same effect, when asked what kitchen appliance he would be, Pyles said, “Well, the first thing that comes to mind is a coffee pot because it makes people happy.”