Communications alum Kayla Germain earned her master’s degree in at Saint Rose in 2011. But, her student experience doesn’t seem to have satisfied her desire to be here.  Kayla now works at Saint Rose, as a staff member in the Office of Public Relations.

Germain, from Greenwich, NY, is the Saint Rose e-media coordinator. In this position, Germain manages the College’s social media platforms. In addition to earning her master’s in Communications from Saint Rose, she also earned her bachelor’s from SUNY Fredonia in 2009.

Germain’s passion for Communications began in high school when she dreamed of being a news anchor. After she enrolled in her undergraduate classes, she realized that she wanted a profession with a better job outlook and more normal business hours. Germain turned to public relations, and thoroughly enjoyed her classes. “I like public relations because it pulls from different skills – writing, business, creative, and more. I could have changed majors for my graduate degree, but I decided to stick with Communications because it’s the field that I love and what makes me happy,” she says.

As Germain looked for a graduate school to pursue her master’s degree in Communications, she was attracted to Saint Rose’s M.A. program. “I preferred Saint Rose over other institutions because of its hands-on nature. Rather than spending my time extensively studying communication theory, I knew at Saint Rose I would be working on real projects that would build and add to my professional portfolio,” she remembers.  “And that’s exactly what happened.”

Many of Germain’s professors made a significant impact on her educational experiences at Saint Rose. Germain says that Dr. Cailin Brown taught her about the important distinctions between journalism and blogging. “Dr. Brown’s feedback on my journalism assignments has made me a much better writer than I was before. She also made me very interested in the field of journalism – I had always favored PR, so I never would have thought that previously. Now when I read the paper I have great respect for journalists and their practice.”

As e-media coordinator at Saint Rose, Germain applies many of the skills she learned during her graduate studies on a daily basis. One of the classes Germain took focused exclusively on social media, where she learned how to use new editing software, fine-tune her writing skills, and explore how social media are used in public relations. “I use social media every day and apply what I learned about how to connect with audiences and how to track data all the time,” she explains, “Thanks to my media classes, I feel very comfortable using a video camera. and recording and editing video, and have produced several videos for the College’s YouTube channel. My job might sound specific, but I do a wide variety of things.  Aside from managing our social media sites, I also write copy for our website, take photos of events around campus, aid departments in specific objectives, and more.”

Germain says what she enjoys most about her job is working in an engaging, vibrant community. “There is always something going on, and my job is to share what’s happening. I get to attend events and take photos or record videos to share with everyone else. I love talking to students on campus and sharing the great things that are going on around here.”

For people considering the graduate Communications program, Germain advises taking advantage of any opportunity offered in the program and at Saint Rose. “Go above and beyond what is asked of you as a student or a graduate assistant. I graduated Saint Rose with an awesome portfolio thanks to class materials and what I had done in my graduate assistantship. Saint Rose offers plenty of opportunities if you are willing to take advantage of them.”

If you are interested in learning more about the MA in Communications program, click here for more information. If you have any questions, please contact Graduate Admissions at 518-454-5143 or email grad@strose.edu.