Speed Networking 2013

WVU Communication Studies Speed Networking Event

Homecoming 2013

Friday October 18, 2013

Gold Ballroom

Mountainlair

3pm

Meet our Alumni On behalf of the West Virginia University Department of Communication Studies, welcome to our second annual Speed Networking Event! Students, it is our hope that you will utilize this opportunity to network and gain information about the endless career possibilities available to communication studies graduates. We have 16 alumni present to answer real-life questions and concerns, all of whom come from varying career paths. We hope you find this experience fun and informative. You will be put into small groups and assigned to a table for a five to ten minute Q&A session with alumni about future career paths. Like speed dating, a bell will ring and you will rotate to another table to meet with different alumni. Our alumni mentors have careers in event planning, project management, business management, public relations, human resources and more. You will have the opportunity to network and gain information about the endless career possibilities available to communication studies graduates. Please meet our alumni volunteers! They are excited and ready to share their advice and experiences with you.

Mark Carretta Erinn Casazza Melissa Ceo Tara Curtis

Mary Donato Betsy Ditrinco

Heather Fowler Ted Greener Nate James

Sean Loera Kristy Martin

Jay Mason Alannah Maxwell Sherry McWatters

Tim Povenski Justin Southern Brittany Swope

Our Alumni Speed Networking

volunteers for Homecoming 2013 are:

Connecting People.

Creating Meaning.

Erinn Casazza (B.A. 2001, M.A. 2002)

Erin is a Program Recruiter for the West Virginia University Office of Extending Learning. She recruits for the Masters in Legal Studies program, Masters in Corporate and Organizational Communication program and offsite Masters in Social Work program at WVU.

2013 Alumni Speed Networking volunteers

Melissa Ceo (B.A. 2010, M.A. 2012)

A recent graduate of the WVU Communication Studies MA program, Melissa is the Advertising Manager for C.A. House Music. In her role, Melissa writes and records radio commercials, works within the community to promote events and sales, and plans many events throughout her community. One of her favorite responsibilities at C.A. House Music is organizing a weekly open mic night.

Mark Carretta (B.A. 2007)

Mark is an Account Executive for ePlus Technology. He is the recruitment liaison with all hiring managers, VPs, and executives of ePlus. He is responsible for the full life cycle recruitment of all facets of the company by posting advertisements of open positions through the use of job boards, internal referrals, and utilizing outside recruitment agencies as needed.

Tara Curtis (M.A. 2000) Tara is the Director of Communications for WVU’s Alumni Association. She oversees communication initiatives for WVU's largest constituency - 185,000 alumni worldwide. In this role, she is responsible for media relations, print/electronic communication, social media and stakeholder communications. Additionally, she assists in the development, planning and implementation of on- and off-campus events for the Association.


Betsy Ditrinco (B.A. 2008, M.A. 2012)

Betsy is the SEI Brand Manager for Socially Good Business. Betsy manages the SGB brand and virtual image, manages client brands and assists in communication organizational changes, and also manages national conference schedule and physical brand image.

Heather Fowler (B.A. 2007)

Heather is a recruiter for TRAK. The TRAK Companies provide temporary and direct-hire professional support staff to some of the most influential organizations in the Washington, D.C. area. As a recruiter at TRAK she is always seeking talented administrative professionals for current and future positions!

Ted Greener (B.A. 2008) Ted is an Account Executive for the DCI Group. Ted started at DCI in June 2013. Prior to that he worked at Ogilvy Public Relations for a total of two years. His primary function at Ogilvy and now at DCI is primarily media strategy and relations. He also gets his clients in the news through pitching stories and ghost writing.

Mary Donato (B.A. 2011) Mary is currently a Communication Studies MA student at WVU, graduating in 2014. Prior to entering the graduate program, Mary worked as an Outreach Coordinator for Home Base Inc. Here she provided in-home socially necessary services to families involved in Child Protective Services and Youth Service cases.


Nate James (B.A. 2011) Nate is the Family Room Coordinator for the Ronald McDonald House Charities, but has several responsibilities to his position such as operations management, marketing and public speaking. He is in charge of the staffing and scheduling of all employees in the Family Room.

Kristy Martin ( M.A. 2002) Kristy is currently the Director of Research and Prospect Management at the WVU Foundation. She has been with the Foundation since 2004. Kristy oversees prospect management for fundraisers at the Foundation as well as the discovery and acquisition of new potential donors. She also serves as the coordinator of Women of WVU, the Foundation's women and philanthropy program.

Sean Loera (B.A. 2011) Sean is an Assistant Media Buyer for The Midas Exchange. Sean works for a global media agency where he assists in media negotiation for advertising campaigns. He also acts as the communicative liaison between the client and the television networks in which the advertisements will run.

Jay Mason (B.A. 2007) Jay is the Program Coordinator for WVCTSI. The purpose of his position is to manage the West Virginia Rural Health Research Center projects within the WVU Institute for Health Policy Research and also to assist with managing overall Center activities in support of the Principal Investigator. He is responsible for monitoring the project life cycle including planning, timelines, resources, communication documents, etc.


Sherry McWatters (B.A. 1977) Sherry currently works as a Regional Sales Manager for Toshiba America Information Systems TSD. She manages 40 authorized Toshiba Telecommunication dealers in 9 states. She is responsible for managing their accounts with some of the following: contracts, quotas, training and application sales assistance. She also is the team leader for her internal staff where she coordinates their activities within her region

Tim Povenski (B.A. 2004, M.A. 2010) Tim is currently a Strategic Management Analyst for WVU Health Sciences Center Chancellor’s Office, Office of Institutional Planning. His position offers training and facilitation for fast track planning, relating to strategic and operational purposes, and project management lite methodology. Tim also offers training and facilitation Project Management Central, a web based project management software.

Alannah Maxwell (B.A. 2012)

Alannah is a product specialist for Russell Stover Company, where she is responsible for the sale of seasonal products at all major grocery chains in her territory. She works to ensure quality and proper representation of these products. Alannah also helps with the purchasing and sale of novelty items along with candy items to a variety of independent accounts.

Justin Southern (B.A. 1996, M.A. 2011) Justin is currently the Communications Director for the West Virginia State Auditor. His duties include planning and coordinating public events for the State Auditor and the division directors who write, publish, and distribute media advisories and press releases, and edit print and other media for internal and external use. He directs a staff of three people who are responsible for creating and producing electronic media for WVSAO.

Now that you know a little about each of out alumni, go get to know them. Ask them questions and voice your concerns about

your future career paths. Don’t be shy! Remember, they were once

in your shoes. Each of our alumni are eagerly waiting to hear

your questions and share their wealth of knowledge, experience,

and wisdom.

We hope that you enjoy yourselves and we wish you the best in

your networking endeavors and your future career paths!


Now that you know us...

Connecting People.

Creating Meaning.

Brittany Swope (B.A. 2013) Brittany is the Assistant Director of Development for WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Office of the Dean. She is responsible for developing and executing engagement activities for alumni. She is currently working on the Eberly Ideas discussion series, a Tailgate Tour with Dean Jones, and various other events. She also manages a portfolio of donors to meet with to discuss giving priorities in the college and encourage to donate a financial gift.

Read about and

connect with these

#WVUCOMMAlum and

others at seelio, our

online social portfolio.

https://seelio.com/g/wvualumni .com/wvucommstudies @WVUCommStudies

.com/WVUCommStudiesDept .com/CommStudiesWVU

Speed Networking 2013

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