Tag Archives: Coastal Carolina University

Not My Best Thursday Rundown

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Thanks for coming back again my friends. I surely won’t give you the best Thursday Rundown I have delivered but I will do what I can. It truly must be the dog days of summer because I was reaching a little deep for topics tonight. Here we go…

#CCU Geofilter – The best news of the week for me definitely came on Tuesday when I received word from Snapchat that they had accepted our geofilter. For those who don’t know, a geofilter is an overlay (basically a cool frame) that Snapchat users can utilize only when they are in a specific area. The one I submitted on behalf of Coastal Carolina obviously covers the area of our campus. Thanks to the work of our graphics team, specifically the talented Dorothy, the filter was finally accepted and by Wednesday it was live on Snapchat. Our students greeted the development with the enthusiasm that is usually reserved for CINO Day or the cancellation of classes.

Our Coastal Carolina University Geofilter was accepted and it turned out great!

Our Coastal Carolina University Geofilter was accepted and it turned out great!

Hit the Showers, Tom Brady – I was delighted with the news that the NFL would uphold the entirety of Tom Brady’s suspension. The quarterback cheated, lied, and did all he could to sabotage the investigation. Those actions definitely warrant every game of his forced hiatus from the Patriots. I am so sick of Brady’s defiance and am dreading the fact that the circus will go on much longer due to his plans to take this matter to federal court. Tom Brady should just be thankful that he lives the life that he does, own up to his arrogance, and sit the games out quietly.

Restaurant News and Notes – T.G.I. Fridays is running commercials about endless appetizers for $10. Sidney and I went to our Myrtle Beach location on Saturday night to cash in on the deal only to be told at our table that the specific restaurant we were at had decided not to do the promotion. * I found my new favorite fast food ice cream spot. For the first time in my life last week, I tried a Sonic Blast. I can count the numbers of times on one hand that I have ate at a Sonic restaurant but give me a month or so and that will change. The ice cream was fresh and every bite I took of my peanut butter cookie dough blast was loaded with toppings. At this very moment, I think I can say that I would take a Sonic Blast over a Dairy Queen Blizzard. * I still need to try Pizza Hut’s hot dog pizza.

Disturbing – If my Thursday Rundown wasn’t so boring tonight, I wouldn’t share this horrendous story. Right out of South Carolina, news recently broke about an unfathomable method of child abuse. A mom left her 2-year-old son, who was unresponsive and bruised, inside her home away from medical care. Bad enough, right? It gets much worse. It turned out that the inside of this house was covered in garbage, feces, and dead animals. My stomach turns badly enough when I watch “Hoarders.” I couldn’t imagine the horror in this residence. Law enforcement said they discovered 48 dead rats, 10 dead pythons, and six dead tarantulas. This was in addition to multiple other animals that were actually still alive. Poor kid. How was I so lucky that I was born to good parents who lived in a nice, clean house?

Wedding Update #4 – Sidney and her mom have done such a great job wasting no time at all getting things squared away for our June 11 date. Our reception venue, caterer, and photographer are now all booked. As all of these developments became official late last week, it has allowed Sidney to relax a little bit more this week. She deserves it!

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There you have it. I wasn’t kidding when I said tonight’s Thursday Rundown would be a little watered down. I hope your weekend isn’t though! As always, thank you for your readership. Don’t Blink.

An Unexpected Visit and Gift

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This morning I received a very nice surprise. A co-worker of mine who works in a different department on campus paid me a visit. The fact that she came to my office was a treat in and of itself. Since Singleton Hall is currently under renovation, I am now working in an area that is tucked away inside a building that isn’t very well known. But having someone other than my Media Services friends swing by my office wasn’t the only joy. My visitor brought with her a gift.

The person who visited me and brought me a gift today was April Betsch. This is the two of us at a social media meeting in December of 2014.

The person who visited me and brought me a gift today was April Betsch. This is the two of us at a social media meeting in December of 2014.

In a gesture of true thoughtfulness, April Betsch, our Associate Director of CHANT411*, presented me with something that every social media marketer should have. Handing me a box, I looked at the front to realize that she had gotten me a 13.5-inch tall HASHTAG LED sign. Not only did she purchase a perfect gift for someone like me, she also cared enough to stock it with batteries before handing it over. April had found the gem at Michael’s and immediately thought of Coastal’s goofy social media guy. Not only does the sign fit my personality and career choice like a glove, it also provides an aesthetic touch to the uninspired way I set up my office.

A look at my hashtag sign shining brightly in the dark.

A look at my hashtag sign shining brightly in the dark.

April’s visit and gift did more than brighten my day, however. It got me thinking that I need to take her lead and do more nice things for others. I feel like I do a good job of showing my loved ones that I value and appreciate them but what about people outside of that circle? I surely would not live the life that I do if not for co-workers, service folks, students, and others. While I do try to go out of my way every now and then, it probably isn’t to the degree that April does it or the degree that countless other humanitarians do it.

Thanks for the great gift, April!

Thanks for the great gift, April!

Some call it “random acts of kindness” and some call it “paying it forward,” but for me I can’t look at it that way. In my head, those terms are too strictly equated with one time deeds and Starbucks drive-thru gimmicks. I need to just do a better job of being kind and thoughtful 24 hours a day. I need to seize more opportunities and recognize more people.

I hope to take the inspiration I gained from April today and use it to be a more consistent and better person. As long as this means that I still don’t have to like Tom Brady I think I can do it. Don’t Blink.

 

* – CHANT411 is a very unique service at Coastal Carolina University staffed entirely on the ground level by students. The campus community can contact CHANT411 with a question through phone, text, e-mail, in-person visit, etc., and receive an answer promptly. In addition to providing information, the organization also undertakes numerous initiatives to make the campus a better place and to boost morale of the CCU family.

Talking to Young People About Social Media Image

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This morning I had another really cool speaking engagement. I was invited to speak to students enrolled in our “Each 1 Teach 1” program here at Coastal. Designed to give high school students a head start to develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills before hitting college, this program is the brainchild of both our business school and education school.

Myself with some great Coastal Carolina students and Conway High School students after today's presentation.

Myself with some great Coastal Carolina students and Conway High School students after today’s presentation.

The topic I was specifically asked to address? Social media image.

I have spoken about this topic before and I think sometimes people have a different idea on what I am going to say. When I go up in front of others though, especially young people, I never present a message of doom and gloom. I don’t tell students to fear social media, post sparingly, and/or set all their accounts to private. Rather, I tell them to completely embrace social media in a way that will enhance their personal brand.

Today I told the students to stay up on latest social media trends and to have a solid presence on all the major social media networks. I tried to relay to them that a job candidate with a vibrant and professional social media presence will appeal to employers more than the candidate with zero social presence at all. I explained that folks who maintain engaging social media public profiles show that they are sophisticated, current, and have little to hide.

Ooops! I am definitely blinking in this photo.

Ooops! I am definitely blinking in this photo.

Of course I did touch on the unfortunate users who sabotage their social media image with loud opinions, insensitive comments, and embarrassing rants. We went around the room talking about each of our social media pet peeves. I cautioned them about a common career-ending feature that is available both on computers and iPhones, the screenshot, that can make your most ill-advised tweet or post live forever. I let them know that social media does have a dark side.

But by a wide margin, my 30-minute presentation today was mostly focused on the opportunities we all have to utilize social media in a way that will help us achieve greater success. To the high school students in the room I told them to start now on building their social media presence and personal brand. Don’t be afraid to showcase what makes you stand out and what you can bring to the table via your social channels. There is no greater tool we have to tell our own individual stories than through social media. Don’t Blink.

Graphic Influences and Precious Text Messages

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I like Thursdays more than half of the other days of the week and a reason for that is because of the Thursday Rundown. Here we go with this week’s five random topics…

Magazine Feature – Our latest alumni magazine here at Coastal Carolina University was recently sent out to the masses. I am tasked with contributing a piece of some sort to the twice-a-year publication. This time around I had the opportunity to do a short story on the opening of our beautiful new baseball stadium. I wrote the copy and conducted the interviews while our amazing graphics team came up with the sweet layout.

This is the portion that I got to contribute to Coastal Magazine.

This is the portion that I got to contribute to Coastal Magazine.

Fat Brent – Speaking of our graphics team, the head man of that group, Rob Wyeth, created this flattering image of me. Rob usually responds to most of my blog posts with a witty sentence or two but this time around he replied with a graphic. Of course this came about because of my post I wrote earlier this week regarding my Cookie Dough Café concept. If I did in fact open such a place I would indeed probably look like this. But then since I would be so rich I would get liposuction.

That cookie dough will catch up to you after awhile.

That cookie dough will catch up to you after a while.

Price of Parking – I explained last week that Sidney, her dad, and myself would be making the night trip to and from Charleston to pick up her car. Left at the airport for two weeks because we had to drive it there to catch a flight, the charges piled up just a little bit. Just another byproduct of Delta’s incompetence.

The cost to keep Sidney's vehicle parked at the Charleston Airport. Thanks Delta!

The cost to keep Sidney’s vehicle parked at the Charleston Airport. Thanks Delta!

Precious Texting – Sidney has an adorable six-year-old niece who I already pretty much consider my niece as well. Yesterday I was surprised when I received a text message from her! Using an old phone of her parents, she got my phone number and made my afternoon. We had a very meaningful conversation as we went back and forth a few times. You can never send too many emoticon hearts.

Russell and I had quite the conversation.

Russell and I had quite the conversation.

Wedding Update – Today at our second marriage meeting we expressed the date we want for our wedding and submitted it for approval by the priest! Also related to our wedding, I am amazed at the amount of planning that Sidney and her mom have already devoted to the big day. Although we won’t say our vows for another 11 months, important things still need to be done this early in the game. Shout out to my fiancé for picking out her dress this week!

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Last weekend was extremely relaxing and I hope to do it again this weekend. I wish the same for all of you. Be safe and enjoy the British Open. Don’t Blink.

Staying Relevant on Social Media over the Summer

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When summer rolls around and students leave campus, many professionals in higher education have the opportunity to become lackadaisical. The good ones don’t of course, including the social media marketers. While things definitely do slow down it doesn’t mean you stop trying to improve. Especially in the realm of social media where you spend all academic year trying to engage your audience, the last thing you would want to do in the summer is slack off and lose everyone.

The months of June and July give me an opportunity to be especially creative while experimenting a little bit. In tonight’s blog post I will give three quick examples of what I have done this week to make sure we stay in front of our social media audience.

Snapchat Alphabet Soup – Yesterday afternoon I placed a time sensitive challenge over our large and engaged Snapchat audience. I gave them a half hour to spell out “#CCU” anyway they pleased. They then of course had to Snap us a photo. In 30 minutes, I received about 30 images! Some people got really creative as one person used waffles, another used M&Ms, and another used s’mores ingredients! Others wrote the hashtag in cool calligraphy or wrote it on the beach. In the end I chose a winner (the s’mores entry won) and posted a really cool photo gallery on Facebook from the Snaps I had captured via screenshot.

Here is a collage of some of the Snaps we received from our Snapchat audience spelling out #CCU.

Here is a collage of some of the Snaps we received from our Snapchat audience spelling out #CCU.

Value Your Alumni – During the summer, students have the tendency to stray away from social media because they are on vacation. However, that is not the case with alumni as most work year round so they stay consistent with their daily habits (which includes looking at social media). Today on Facebook I asked our alumni audience to comment underneath my post so that we could thank them for attending Coastal. With that motivator of a personal thank you from CCU, we had hundreds of alums leave comments. I spent today writing over 230 replies to Coastal grads. Don’t think I was just saying “thank you” either. I tried to work in a personal note for each person. It was time consuming, but fun, and best of all, our audience really appreciated it.

On the left you can see the original post. On the right you can see three examples of the dialogue that I had with alums.

On the left you can see the original post. On the right you can see three examples of the dialogue that I had with alums.

Face-To-Face with the Future – During the summer, our university hosts nine different freshmen orientations. Last year I used guerilla marketing tactics to reach this very valuable group. On the second day of each orientation, there is an info fair that takes place. When this year rolled around, I wanted to take a more organized approach than what I did previously. I requested my own table for #CCUSocialMedia. This past Friday I was given a half table but by the second orientation on Tuesday I had my own space. During this one hour info fair I run social media promotions exclusively for the freshmen and bait them with sweet swag. I have had the opportunity to talk to many parents and students while literally watching our following on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat shoot right up.

Myself with Chauncey on the left at my table. On the right you see students engaged.

Myself with Chauncey on the left at my table. On the right you see students engaged.

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I don’t love summer just because it is hot outside and I get to eat a lot of ice cream. I also like it from a work aspect. Although it is more of a low key time, there is the potential to make some big gains. While some higher education social media marketers might use it as a time to rest, we at Coastal Carolina University are using it to get better. Don’t Blink.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

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Summer is in full swing and I could not be happier! What an awesome time of the year. Thursday is upon us again and that means it is time for the rundown.

Guilty Pleasure – As it is National Candy Month, I thought it would be appropriate to start with this. For the past year I have turned more and more to Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites. If you go to the bins in front of the checkout aisles at Wal-Mart, you can buy a box for a buck. It is a very low quality candy with stale cookie dough but for whatever reason it doesn’t deter me from eating it. Believe it or not, sprinkling them on ice cream or pouring them on your tub of popcorn at the movies is not a bad idea either. Do know that if you don’t sneak a box in at the theater you won’t be paying the $1 Wal-Mart price…most movie houses sell the exact same box for around $4.

My favorite candy sits on my kitchen counter.

My favorite candy sits on my kitchen counter.

A Boatful – Last week I had the opportunity to celebrate the 6th birthday of Sidney’s niece, Russell. It was a joyous affair where we hopped on the family boat and cruised down the Intracoastal Waterway to a fabulous seafood restaurant for dinner. Filling up the family boat was, well…family. The photo, posted by Sid’s sister (AKA Russell’s mom), generated a lot of social media engagement. My good friend Ellen Seder posted a comment suggesting that I blog about the photo. Great idea, Ellen! Consider it done.

It was a full and happy boat. Sid and I are way in the back!

It was a full and happy boat. Sid and I are way in the back!

Periscope Debut – I absolutely love Periscope. This live streaming social media service is incredible and I am already having a ball fooling around with it for personal use. However, I will write about that in a whole separate blog post. Today I used it the first time for work. I introduced the app by taking our #CCUSocialMedia audience on a tour of Brooks Stadium. Of course the focal point was showcasing the teal turf. For about 20 minutes I gave 88 people a live look at the stadium. I went to every vantage point in the venue so our audience could see the teal turf in all its glory. I had a splendid time answering questions and providing a service that not many universities are utilizing.

A screen shot from our Periscope live stream broadcast of the teal turf tour. As you can see, someone is asking a question in this instance.

A screen shot from our Periscope live stream broadcast of the teal turf tour. As you can see, someone is asking a question in this instance.

The Social Circle – We released our latest episode of “Coastal Now” this week. During my Social Circle segment, I talked about how we utilized social media to make the big announcements about our new residence halls. It might be worth a watch to you (probably not though). Click here to be taken directly to my segment.

Another cool professional development happened today. Terminal Four, a gigantic content management company headquartered in Ireland, randomly published a blog post on how Coastal is going above and beyond with its summer social media efforts. I was completely caught off guard with the flattery but of course pleasantly surprised. To read the post, click here.

I talked about how we revealed our new residence halls in my latest "Social Circle" segment.

I talked about how we revealed our new residence halls in my latest “Social Circle” segment.

Another Blunder – Earlier this week when I wrote about the times I had messed up in my blog over the course of the past four years, I missed something. A loyal reader reminded me about an especially embarrassing mistake I made not too long ago. One word: TWINS.

I wholeheartedly believed that this commercial made for my blog featured twins. It took one quick look from by girlfriend for her to tell me that I was crazy. When I asked all of you for a second opinion, you also yelled back at me that I was nuts. Chalk that up as another moment of stupidity.

So I guess this is really just one girl instead of twins.

So I guess this is really just one girl instead of twins.

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Enjoy the first game of the NBA Finals tonight. Hopefully we will witness domination by the Golden State Warriors. I have been completely outspoken, I hope Lebron and the Cavs get swept. I don’t bow down to King James. Don’t Blink.

Battle of the Mortarboards

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If I cornered you and made you tell me the first thing you notice at a typical college graduation I am pretty sure of the answer. Admit it, you would reply with graduation caps! In recent years, mortarboard art has exploded at ceremonies across the country. Students have embraced both self-expression and their artistic side to create bold and colorful statements on the top of commencement headgear. To many students, it is a big deal.

Coastal Carolina University is no different from other colleges in the nation. Our students love to decorate their caps and proudly show them off on graduation day. For photographers and social media marketers, we appreciate the passion that creative students bring to this art form. You see, it gives us another angle to cover besides boring images of the commencement speaker, similar-looking photos of students flashing their diplomas, and generic venue shots. The option to sprinkle in mortarboard art throughout graduation coverage provides a breath of fresh air.

Our students go all out decorating their graduation caps. This photo was taken during the Wall College of Business graduation ceremony on Friday.

Our students go all out decorating their graduation caps. This photo was taken during the Wall College of Business graduation ceremony on Friday.

Over the course of the four graduation ceremonies this past weekend, I made sure to feature enough creative caps to liven up the overall story of our 2015 #CCU Spring Commencement. However, I made sure not to over-do it and make the significant moment excessively about weirdly-shaped hats with colors, bows, and beads on them.

As someone who has a lot of respect for teachers, I thought this cap was really cool.

As someone who has a lot of respect for teachers, I thought this cap was really cool.

But when Monday came around and it had been over 48 hours since the last student crossed the stage, I decided to make #CCUSocialMedia devoted to mortarboard art. I took 40 images depicting the best decorated hats from the weekend and threw them into a Facebook album. I then instructed our social media audience to vote for their favorite cap by liking the image. Voters could like as many of the photos as they wanted. I set the contest deadline for today at 5 p.m. and promised the graduate with the most votes a Chanticleer prize pack.

This was the Facebook post that went out explaining the contest.

This was the Facebook post that went out explaining the contest.

It didn’t take long for our young graduates to get competitive. I didn’t tell anyone that I was doing this contest. However, as soon as I made the promotion live, word spread and any former student who had their cap featured in the competition immediately knew. A lot of sharing, liking, and campaigning took place over the course of the next 27 hours.

Although it didn't come close to winning, I thought the "Little Mermaid" cap was cool.

Although it didn’t come close to winning, I thought the “Little Mermaid” cap was cool.

When 5 p.m. hit today I announced our winner. Garnering over 1,300 likes is the cap below this paragraph. To be honest, I don’t even know what this technique is called but I think it might be rhinestoning? I saw that word mentioned on the comment thread. I also gathered from the comments that something like this had to have taken a very long time. Again, I am not privy to the great effort it takes to supposedly create a design like this but wonderful job to Chandler Parnell, the proud owner of the mortarboard.

Chandler Parnell won the grand prize with over 1,300 likes for this hat.

Chandler Parnell won the grand prize with over 1,300 likes for this hat.

I decided to offer a second place prize too. I must say that I totally missed the boat on this one as well. I had never heard the term “Bye Felicia” until I looked it up last night when the image started to gain a great deal of its 530 likes. For those who are as clueless as me, it is a phrase from the movie “Friday.”

With 530 votes, this cap took second place. I didn't understand the "Bye Felicia" reference until I looked it up last night.

With 530 votes, this cap took second place. I didn’t understand the “Bye Felicia” reference until I looked it up last night.

Several other images earned over 300 likes. It was fun to see what graduates were saying to motivate their friends and family to vote. Our album was shared 85 times and people with absolutely no connection to any of the hats expressed how much they loved the idea of the contest and the creativity of our former students.

I know college commencement season is just now heating up so we can expect thousands (maybe millions) of more cool mortarboards to be proudly worn on the heads of graduates. Maybe if all university social media managers did a similar type of contest, we could take all the winners from different schools and offer a national graduation cap championship. How cool would that be? Don’t Blink.

Big Speech, Big Goodbye, Big Appeal, Big Holiday, Big Mountain of Ice Cream

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Hello to all! It is that time of the week where I do a little thing I call the Thursday Rundown. What will the five topics be tonight?

Big Time Speech – This morning I delivered one of my more nerve-wracking public speaking engagements. A couple weeks ago my boss asked me to present at the Board of Trustees meeting regarding our social media efforts. I definitely felt a little tentative speaking in front of such an important and polished group. However, the honor and possibilities of such an opportunity greatly outweighed my nerves. I drafted up my presentation, sweated it out rehearsing last night, and then delivered it at around 10:30 a.m. today. I had butterflies before I went to the podium but once I reached it they all went away. At the conclusion of my presentation when a member told me the Board had taken notice of my work and then they all recognized me with applause it was probably one of the prouder moments of my young career.

This was me speaking this morning at the Board of Trustees meeting at Coastal Carolina University.

This was me speaking this morning at the Board of Trustees meeting at Coastal Carolina University.

One Talented Student – Today one of our student-workers said goodbye to us. Alexandra Morris will graduate on Saturday and I am sad to see her go. Throughout my years working with students I don’t think I have encountered someone as talented as her. A wiz in both writing and video with a deep interest in filmmaking, Alexandra has the luxury to take her career wherever she wants to. She produces amazing work and I can’t wait to see where she ends up.

I am going to miss Alexandra!

I am going to miss Alexandra!

Your Weekly Sean Carty Update – Coach Carty’s initial appeal has been presented to the principal at Mead High School and the waiting game has taken over. As the principal has five days to uphold or overturn, a decision should be coming soon. Although this level of the appeals process was never considered Carty’s strongest chance of getting it overturned (it was the principal who made the initial decision), there is always the chance. In fact, the belief is growing that the principal might just do what is right and overturn his original decision to help the district avoid further embarrassment.

Mother’s Day – This upcoming Sunday is Mother’s Day. Remember to celebrate your mom and make her feel special. Also, it is never against the rules to celebrate other moms as well. Someone taking full advantage of this is Sidney. She took the time to create a silhouette of each of her students and then displayed it in an elegant way on colored paper. The kids have a spot to write a short personal message to their mom. What a thoughtful thing to do on the part of Miss Mathis!

These are the super cool silhouettes that Sidney created for her students to give their moms.

These are the super cool silhouettes that Sidney created for her students to give their moms.

Ice Cream Mountain – At the end of the semester, Coastal hosts an event called Finals Frenzy. Our main dining hall opens up at 10 p.m. and welcomes study-deprived students inside to enjoy free food and prizes. Each year, a gigantic mountain of ice cream is created for students to indulge in. The thing is so huge that they have to prepare it in a kiddie swimming pool! Anyway, because of my love for ice cream, I must share a photo I took of it right before the first scoop was taken out.

This ice cream mountain is incredible! Now this isn't something I could do in five minutes.

This ice cream mountain is incredible! Now this isn’t something I could do in five minutes.

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Busy, busy weekend for me with four commencement ceremonies to work. I hope you all have a great couple days and I will touch base with you on Sunday. Don’t Blink.

Reflections on My First Year at Coastal Carolina University

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It is funny. Often times you can look back on a period of time and not quite know if it flew by or seemed to last. If you are like me, sometimes you end up deciding it was a little of both. Today I celebrate my one year anniversary at Coastal Carolina University. For the most part, the last 365 days passed quickly. But then I realize that next week I will cover my fourth commencement and it makes me feel like I have been around campus for a little longer.

This is my one year anniversary photo!

This is my one year anniversary photo!

On May 1, 2014, I reported for my first day at Coastal Carolina. I spent that Thursday in new employee orientation learning about policies and procedures. It was an uneventful and low key day. That would be the last one of those. From the end of that initial day on out I had the opportunity to go full speed ahead and that is exactly what I did. I arrived on campus just before the start of graduation week and went right into covering the craziness of it. I covered a lot of events and met a lot of people. Those first ten or so days really helped set the tone for my first year.

My rookie debut at CCU was a good one. Yes, it was successful. Our social channels grew exponentially, #CCUSocialMedia became a brand, we won an award, and we received far more media coverage than I could ever imagine. But that is all I want to say about job performance. My one year reflection blog post is much more than that.

What I want to really hit on is what a good fit this position has been. I came from a job where I wore a ton of different hats and had little free time. For the past year I have showed up for work at a place where my focus is much more defined and my time out of the office much more adequate.

From the start I said I took this job because I could concentrate on social media. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t grown in other areas. Although I might not have 15 different responsibilities to tend to on a given day like at Montana, I have been able to embrace a diverse set of opportunities that improved me as a professional. Encouraged to create my own news show segment, assigned to write for our alumni magazine, requested to serve on working groups, and asked to help out on search committees, I was enabled to expand my reach. Aside from running our social media program, I relished these additional roles.

Another part of the fit has been the energy and culture at CCU. Our university is growing, both in terms of physical structures and student enrollment. We are an institution on the rise and I wanted to be a piece of that. Additionally, and I truly mean it when I say this, Coastal is just different. We are built on customer service and this attitude is reflected from the top down. There is a pride and a vibe here that is special, one that I relate to and embrace. Our “Feel the Teal” mission motivates me at work each day.

Most importantly, this arrangement has worked because of the people. It all starts out with our Vice President of University Communication who had the guts to hire me. Bill Plate brought me from Missoula to Myrtle Beach and I am so glad he did. He had the vision and rationality to know that a social media position was needed at CCU and he made it a reality. So many other people helped me (and continue to help me) after Bill and I wish I could recognize them all. Although this is not possible I do want to thank a few people really quickly. Thanks to our administrative assistant Kim Harper for helping me with pretty much every office task and organizational logistic you could think of. Thanks to April Betsch for reaching out to me at one of the first events I worked and taking me around to meet many of the key people I would end up working closely with. Thanks to Eileen Soisson for teaching me what it means to Feel the Teal and for going out of her way to support me. Thanks to Matt Hogue, Seth Horton, and Kevin Olivett from athletics for treating me so well and for genuinely caring about my ideas and input.

Year #1 is in the books and it was great. I am appreciative of the opportunity Coastal Carolina University has afforded me and I can’t wait to improve. Don’t Blink.