Interview is edited for length and clarity.
How did you decide to attend Simmons, and what drew you to studying communications?
I was looking at schools in New York and around Boston. My parents and I were wandering around the area and stumbled upon the Simmons campus. We liked the size of the academic and residence campuses. I loved the idea of going to a small school with access to a big city. It was the perfect mix for what I needed.
I always knew I wanted to do something in the realm of communications. In high school, I considered broadcast journalism. When I began at Simmons, I took Public Relations 101 and discovered a new interest to pursue. It all clicked for me at that moment.
What impact did attending a women-centered college have on your college experience, and how did it influence your professional career?
It gave me a sense of empowerment. When I was in the classroom, it was a positive and supportive environment. Having the ability to speak freely was something I never gave a second thought to until I considered what could’ve been different at a co-ed school.
I don’t exactly know what the differences would have been. However, I know the desire I had to pick Simmons over another school was because of the class size and the ability to not get lost in a sea of faces. I was getting hands-on learning as a way to find my voice. I don't think I would have been able to find my voice in the same way had I gone to a different school.
Did you have a favorite course at Simmons? Why?
Two classes come to mind, and I talk about them all the time — my graphic design and my layout and production classes. They were both a challenge for me; at the time, I thought I didn’t have a creative bone in my body, so this pushed me far outside my comfort zone.
Ironically, those two courses have been most applicable in my career; the foundation they provided enables me to have conversations with creative teams as I am relaying direction or feedback. I'm now able to speak their language and understand what goes into the development of the assets they are creating for a campaign.
I encourage everyone who feels the same to pay attention to the technicalities of the topic and terminology because those technicalities are what are going to help you when it comes to design or talking with creatives about what you need for a given project.
What is your current role? What are some of your responsibilities?
I am a Practice Lead at a healthcare communications agency called Real Chemistry. My day-to-day is never the same. My focus is on leading a large team in pharmaceutical communications, but my primary focus is on oncology, rare disease, and research and development. First and foremost, we are storytellers and the work ranges from translating clinical data into language people can understand, driving awareness and education, and working with patients to provide a face and voice to the diseases that impact people across the globe.
I happened into healthcare communications by necessity; it was the only area of communications hiring when I wanted to move to New York and needed a job. Little did I know how much I would fall in love with this field. There is a definite need to understand high-level science and translate it into language an average person can understand, and I had never really considered myself a science person; something about this just made sense. Being able to translate the data into something easily understood by people who needed information provided me with a sense of purpose.
What advice would you give someone interested in studying public relations and marketing communications?
It’s OK to have a plan, but it’s also OK to deviate from the plan. In fact, I encourage it. Many of us who study and work in communications are overachievers. We have carefully thought out plans and timelines; it’s what makes us good at our jobs. I never would have landed where I am if I had stuck to my plan or shied away because I thought I wouldn’t be “good” at it. Being open to new things and expanding your thinking may lead you to something unexpected and unbelievably transformative.
That openness didn’t just land me a job; it enabled me to establish my career. I’ve learned that growth isn't always about climbing a ladder. Instead, I like to describe growth as if it’s a tree; sometimes it grows up, and other times the branches grow out. There are years where you will grow up and out at the same time, and there will be years that you are just growing out. The important thing is that you always keep finding what fuels you so that you can continue to grow.