Tips from our Network

The West Virginia University Marketing Communications Online Programs are a popular choice for professionals looking to advance their careers. But don't just take our word for it – here's what some alumni have to say about their experiences in the program. Their insights, advice and stories offer a glimpse into the career-changing impact of our online graduate programs. Whether you're considering applying or already enrolled, these tips from our alumni network will provide valuable guidance and inspiration for your journey.

---

Whitney Humphrey
M.S. IMC

For Whitney, the program offered her more than just a chance to learn and develop new skills. It gave her opportunities to grow her network and make friends going through a similar situation in addition to her high-caliber coursework and instructors.

“If you are even thinking about applying to the IMC program, just do it. It’s so much more than just a master’s degree,” she said. “World-class professors, mentors, friendships, the coursework — it opens you to so many opportunities that you otherwise wouldn’t have. If anybody is on that fence, I encourage them to just take that leap and do it.”

---

Eric Winkfield
M.S. IMC

Eric, the vice president at M Booth and M Booth Health leading diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, came to the program with one thing in mind — being a storyteller. Finding the stories he was connected to and the ones he wanted to tell helped guide his career path toward his current position.

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” he said. “You’d be surprised just how open and vulnerable people may be to give advice and even show you what their journey was like to help figure out what your next steps are.”

---

Brienna Schuette
M.S. IMC

Brienna Schuette was on the market for a master's degree, but she knew she didn’t want an MBA, the most common program around her in her hometown in Minnesota.

When looking at WVU’s Integrated Marketing Communications Program, she found the course catalog and had a hard time picking which courses to take since she wanted to take all of them. Paired with the areas of emphasis and faculty, Brienna knew this was the program for her.

“I looked at some other programs, but none of the others, I felt like, could provide the value that WVU’s IMC program could,” Schuette said. “In the variety of courses, options for special areas of focus, and just looking at the faculty. These are people who are practitioners. They’re living and working in this world. They know what's coming down the pipeline. They’re able to help students keep their skills current. The combination of all of those things led me here.”

---

Mary Padilla
M.S. Data Marketing Communications

Mary spent time in the industry before returning for her master’s degree, and this experience helped her through her degree. While juggling school and full-time work can be difficult, Mary found completing her degree to be one of the most rewarding things she’s done.

“I’m very happy that I chose this program. While it is difficult to be working full-time and you do have to make a serious time commitment to it, it’s the best thing that I’ve done in a very long time,” Mary said. “I am so happy with what I have learned and so very proud to have done it. I’m so excited to share this new knowledge with my team.”

---

Gina Amsellem
M.S. IMC

Gina dove right into the program once she found it, and she has not looked back since her start in the IMC program. The creative classes have been her favorite part of the degree as she has been able to combine her love of creative and design work with marketing principles. Her advice for anyone thinking about the program? Just do it.

“For anyone looking to really expand their mind and expand their knowledge about integrated marketing or marketing in general, I say go for it,” Gina said. “For me, there is nothing better than knowledge. There’s no downside to knowledge. Knowledge is always good.”

---

Brittany Murray
M.S. IMC

While Brittany loved learning the strategy behind her writing skills and taking courses like content marketing and web metrics and SEO, she also loved growing her network through the program both with peers and instructors.

“It's really interesting the different people and the different backgrounds that you get exposed to. You would think that doing an online program you wouldn't get to form relationships with your classmates, but that's really not the case,” she said. “Through the discussion posts and sometimes we would do group chats within our classes, and you get to learn a lot of different perspectives. Everyone has their own background that they bring to the class and it's really interesting to learn from your peers.”

---

Adam Payne
M.S. Digital Marketing Communications

Adam had a support system in his coworkers at the WVU Launch Lab with whom he shared the experience of doing one of the Marketing Communications programs, and while he had in-person connections with people in the program, this didn’t stop him from growing his network on the discussion boards, too.

“If someone is interested in the program, I would definitely just tell them that it is as flexible as you want it to be and as accommodating. I think what's really great about it is there was such a diversity of people in my courses,” he said. “I could tell that some were full-time employees going back to school to get their masters, some like me that just completed undergrad but they were able to fit it in, so you have to make it work for you. I think the program is really designed to help as many people as possible because you don't have to be sitting in a classroom the whole time to get it done.”

---

Isaac Mei
M.S. IMC

Mei has been an active alum of the IMC program, participating in online discussions, podcast appearances and visits to West Virginia University for in-person events. He credits his engagement to the time he spent in the IMC program, the mentorship he received along the way and the people he’s met from the programs.

“That was such a special experience for me, and to be honest with you, it's a big reason why I came back to be a part of this community of creative thinkers and people who are exceptional at executing within their job,” Mei said. “They are just incredibly friendly, genuinely nice people who are always looking to help you, who are willing to talk to you about ideas and who can really empathize with what you've been through in your career, where you're trying to go and helping you get to those places and reach those goals that you had career-wise.”

---

Jesef Williams
M.S. IMC

One of his favorite parts of the program was being able to customize his degree to his timeline and his interests. Jesef liked the challenge of delving into different areas and topics with elective courses like higher education marketing and public relations strategy which he could apply to his current role. Overall, the program has helped him feel confident to make career leaps and more confident in his role.

“This degree really signifies a major goal for me, and it also symbolizes a leap in terms of my foundational knowledge, my skill set, my expertise in the world of public relations, marketing, branding and the like, and coming from a newspaper journalism background with a degree in journalism, this master's is just the perfect complement to that,” Jesef said. “I am more confident. I am more competent and just more equipped to now go out into the world and continue to manifest more of my goals as they pertain to communications, editing, writing and marketing.”

---

Julia Aloisi
M.S. Digital Marketing Communications

Julia graduated with her undergraduate degree in 2020, and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she did not get to have a full ceremony when she received her bachelor’s degree. Despite her master’s degree being online, Julia knew she wanted to attend the ceremony for her degree, and it fulfilled the desire she had for that in-person celebration of her and her classmates’ accomplishments.

"It really meant a lot to have the support, even though it's an online program and there's a lot of people we haven't interacted with in person,” Julia said. “You just felt the love and support there. Knowing that you're a mountaineer for life, I think that that's really what makes the program wonderful."

---

Kelly Greathouse
M.S. Data Marketing Communications

Full-time mom. Full-time job. And… grad school? For Kelly Greathouse, Data Marketing Communications alumna, pursuing a graduate degree was not an immediate decision, but it is one she has not regretted since she started the journey. As for choosing WVU for her master's degree? A no-brainer.

“My master's degree was only possible with online options, and West Virginia University has a great reputation of providing quality of education,” Kelly said. “I was so worried about being able to handle all of the course workload, and the intro course gave me the confidence to move forward and go through the rest of the program.”

---

---

Meet the Author

---