Name: Kate Harper
Degree: Strategic Communications
Expected Graduation Date: May 2016
Company: Sweet Adelines International
Kate Harper was a senior in the School of Media & Strategic Communications when she took Gina Noble’s Advanced PR Writing class and realized her true passion.
Diuring the semester, Harper created a nonprofit organization. This project made her realize she wanted to continue to work with nonprofits as a career.
“We had to research about them,” Harper said. “It just kind of hit me in the stomach, so I knew I wanted to work somewhere that was giving back.”
She applied for a position with Sweet Adelines International, a worldwide organization of women singers, but was hired for a different position. A month later, a marketing position opened , and she was promoted to marketing and communications assistant, where she helps write and edit the quarterly magazine, The Pitch Pipe. Harper also works on ad copy, newsletters and social media. She also assists with graphic design, marketing initiatives, maintaining the company’s website, research and clerical work.
“I feel very accomplished by being able to work with these women who are so dedicated to the art form they work with,” Harper said. “They are just so passionate. Being able to take that passion and showcase it through social media or getting major news outlets to follow it is superawesome, and I feel honored to showcase these women for the organization.”
Harper was applying to agencies, boutiques, news stations and anywhere else that would accept her resume during her last year, but the goal was to follow her passion and work for a nonprofit.
“There is so much you can do that there is no reason for you to leave SMSC without knowing, at least sort of, what you are really passionate about,” Harper said.