Communication Testimonials
Seth Kastle (2005)
Co-Manager
Walmart
Wichita, KS
As co-manager at Walmart, I have responsibility for the entire facility and management team. My facility currently averages between $80 and $100 million in sales a year, and has just under 400 employees. A great deal of my daily activities include planning to complete projects such as seasonal changeovers, merchandising or aligning sales and wage percentages. Walmart is also an evolving company, so managing and executing change is also a big part of what I do. Having the opportunity to work with kids through the KYLA and KYLC activities that I participated in not only gave me deeper appreciation for the importance of youth leadership, but also introduced me to the different approaches one has to take when faced with a different audience. Working with high school and middle school kids showed me that I would have to take different approaches to varied audiences that I would encounter in my career. It's a skill that I am still developing today. The strategic planning skills I learned in my program at Fort Hays have been invaluable to me.
Lydia Fuqua (2013)
Masters Student in Theatre Education
Emerson College
Boston, MA
Communication Programs at Fort Hays State University fueled my desire to take my education to the next level and provided me with the tools I needed to succeed in my ambition. Not only was I able to dabble in a variety of Communication and Theatre classes, but I also had the opportunity to step outside the classroom and gain experience with a ton of hands-on opportunities. I obtained a well rounded education, gaining multiple perspectives and increasing my knowledge in a wide array of subject fields. From creating various multimedia to planning and executing events from start to finish, I received a hands-on education in a broad range of areas. The instruction is top notch and the attention given to students by faculty members is unbeatable. Nowhere else can you find the perfect blend of communication theory and the chance to apply what you have learned in a real world setting. I truly believe that my ability to explore my interests within the program enabled me to achieve many great feats in a short amount of time and prepared me for the next step in my journey.
Riley Adam Voth (2011)
Pastor Crosspoint Church
Lawrence, KS
I do ministry in several contexts, online and offline. I'm one of 10 pastors in a multi-site church with sites all across Kansas and growing. This means I'm not usually the teaching pastor - occasionally I fill that role, too - but my typical duties are making sure our site is healthy, both the individual lives and organizationally speaking, that we're in sync with the church as a whole, and that we are reaching, serving, and loving the community we're in. I innovate and lead in both new and trusted ways to do these things every week. I also began blogging a few years ago and am now to a point where this has begun to turn a revenue and provide me other opportunities for training, speaking, and creating resources. It fits in with my life offline really well because if I'm meeting with people, counseling, teaching, and leading, it helps to continue to work out these things and be a thought-leader online as well. It provides resources for people throughout the week that they wouldn't have otherwise. My time at FHSU, and specifically in Communication Programs, taught me the importance of continually learning - studying culture and adapting to what works. This is one of the most important things a professional communicator must do. Many might think, "What does a Public Relations degree have to do with ministry?" But I would say that there was no better degree I could have received for it. I'm putting into practice things I learned in the program every day: listening to and observing the desires of people, communicating in a consistent but contextual way that appeals to them, persuading people to make choices that can change their entire lives, crisis control, and more.
Connor J. Beer (2011)
Personnel Consultant
Medix Staffing Solutions
Overland Park, KS
I work in the Professional Services Department where I am in charge of working with high profile clients and finding them candidates that fit their needs. These positions could be anything from Medical Coders, Billers, Nurses, or Receptionists to Mortgage Loan Processors, Financial Analysts, and Account Executives. After I find these individuals who meet the job criteria I interview them both over the phone and in person. I then submit them over to the client where it is a battle to have the best candidate among other staffing agencies. After I get a candidate hired on I become their Supervisor in charge of their payroll, taxes, and termination. Fort Hays is an amazing institution that gave me the tools needed to succeed in my future endeavors. My teachers in Communication Programs are the people who helped me realize where my true potential lied. I started to realize that the way we communicate as humans could be a learned attribute, which is what really drew me into the field of study. Many of the theories and underlying criteria that I learned from classes such as Interpersonal Communication, Organizational Culture and Climate, and Conflict Management helped me to be an effective communicator.
Bryce Augustine (2009)
Product Support Specialist
Garmin International
Gardner, Kan.
As a Tech Support person, I answer phone calls and help solve GPS problems of the customers, assist customers with map updates and guide potential customers to find a system that correlates with their needs and wants. While a student at Fort Hays State University, I worked at Wal*Mart and had my internship there. That position offered me good representation of the working world and experience in balancing several different aspects of life. In my job at Garmin, I promote team work and self confidence when training new agents, as well as expressing the importance of good communication skills. I have adopted a situational leadership training method as each person learns at a different pace. My academic experiences at FHSU prepared me well for this position.
Kaley R. Klaus (2012)
Coordinator for Campus Support
Campus Labs
Buffalo, NY
I am currently a Coordinator for Campus Support at Campus Labs, a Higher One company. In my position, I provide implementation and ongoing support to member institutions who utilize the Compliance Assist Accreditation, Planning, and Program Review modules. Compliance Assist is software that assists higher education institutions with accreditation submissions, as well as, strategic planning and assessment processes on campus. Campus Labs also provides other products for assessment in higher education. My job requires a lot of interaction with clients of Campus Labs. Most of my communication is done via email, and I also provide training and presentations via webinar. The FHSU Communication Studies program helped prepare me for these types of interactions because of the wide array of projects given. Also, while I do not work directly with marketing, or public relations, department in the company I play a vital role in making sure our clients are happy with our services and continue to utilize our products on their campuses.
Tasha Richmeier (2012)
Marketing Coordinator
Nex-Tech Wireless
Hays, KS
I am responsible for managing and implementing social media strategies for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. I develop press releases, radio scripts and other materials to promote Nex-Tech Wireless and its services. I also brainstorm, plan and execute promotional events. FHSU's wide range of course offerings gave me the ability to choose classes that not only interested me, but proved to be useful in my professional career. I am able to utilize course such as Desktop Publishing and Business & Professional Speaking on a daily basis. Multimedia Production helped me expand on disciplines I had initially learned in high school and also apply them frequently in my day-to-day work. The Public Relations and Crisis Management & Strategies courses educated me on how to create a plan from beginning to end, address and overcome obstacles, and implement in a business environment. My professors did an amazing job of educating me on these topics and how I could immediately implement them into my profession.
Amanda Fairbanks (2007)
Instructor of Speech
Keiser University
Ph.D. student in Student Affairs in Higher Education, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas M.S. in Communication Studies: December, 2008 The opportunities and experiences I had at FHSU were instrumental in helping me achieve my personal and professional goals. I was able to be involved in a number of organizations which provided me with leadership experience and helped me build relationships across campus. Specifically, the faculty and staff of Communication Programs contributed greatly to helping me achieve my goals. My experience working as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in Communication Programs was a great experience and helped me realize that working in higher education is what I truly wanted to do. I would not be where I am today professionally without the opportunities presented to me during my time at FHSU.
Lindsey Mong (2012)
Administrative Assistant
Hays, KS
As an administrative assistant at a local general dentistry office I am responsible for daily patient relations including face to face interactions, phone communications, scheduling, and insurance efforts. I work to make the administrative side of a dental visit as smooth and easy as possible for patients while managing a busy schedule and workload for multiple dentists, dental assistants and hygienists. FHSU's course load and knowledgeable faculty afforded me the valuable education and experiences I needed to thrive in a fast-paced work environment. I was able to develop my skills in multiple communication areas including: public relations, marketing, communication software and journalism. Meanwhile, my elective courses established a well-rounded general education and fulfilled my personal interests.
Klint A. Spiller (2011)
Sports Writer
Hays Daily News
Hays, KS
My experience at The University Leader was instrumental to my development as a reporter. It taught me how to write on deadline and sharpened my writing skills. If it weren't for The Leader, I am absolutely positive that I would not have been offered a job immediately out of college. The Hays Daily News saw my work in The Leader when I was a freshman and hired me as a stringer, which is a part-time sports writer (I mostly covered high school athletics on weekends as well as some Fort Hays events), during my sophomore year. I worked as a stringer until I graduated. Through my work at The Leader and my work as a stringer, The Hays Daily News actually called me and offered me a full-time job without me even applying.