Alumni in Action
Alumni Spotlight: Chelsea Best
Describe your current position.
In my current role, I manage the communications coming from the GVSU Human Resources office, with a focus on promoting employee well-being initiatives. This includes writing and designing content for newsletters, webpages, videos, and print materials. My days are spent immersed in the university’s content management system and the Adobe Creative Suite. I work with our team to determine the best way to communicate with our audience, design logos/the ‘look’ for the programs we provide, and ensure materials are up to brand standards.
To what extent does writing relate to your current position? What type of writing/design do you do for work?
Writing is heavily related to my position in several ways. I write the copy for our newsletters, which often includes interviewing and writing stories about employees. The website content—what people see and the backend content—is something I revise, rewrite, and add to on a regular basis. I design digital graphics, print materials, and create videos (think kinetic text). I also design the layout for our newsletter, website, and other materials, always keeping in mind the user and what makes sense from an accessibility standpoint.
Briefly describe your path from graduation at GVSU to your current position.
When I graduated, I was working as an intern—ironically in the same department I work for now—and was able to turn that internship into a part-time position while I continued my job search. My part-time role was extended due to the Covid-19 pandemic and ended up lasting a year and a half. During that time, I continuously applied to full-time jobs and took on freelance projects and contract work whenever it found me. A full-time position was eventually created for me at GVSU, and that’s where I (still) am today.
What parts of the writing major had the strongest impact on you as a professional?
Something that probably isn’t talked about a lot that had a huge impact on me was the reflection memos and the conversations we had around the “why” we were making the decisions we were within our projects. The work that I do is more meaningful to me and those around me when I can explain the context—why I chose a specific word, phrase, color, shape, photo, etc. This is such an important skill to have, and I think it plays into workshopping and being able to provide feedback effectively as well. The feedback that I provide when editing or brainstorming is more thoughtful because of the writing major.
The exposure the writing major offered to the different aspects of writing was strongly impactful, too. Learning about document design, multimodality, creative writing (in all its forms) and web writing—the list could go on—has made me more well-rounded in my profession.
What advice would you offer to current/future writing majors at Grand Valley?
The biggest piece of advice I would offer to current/future writing majors is to meet with your professors. Meet with them often and meet with all of them, not just the ones teaching the classes you excel in or enjoy the most. I believe this is something that can make or break your experience in college. Professors are there as a resource for you and want to help. The support and partnership I received from the professors—and alumni and my classmates—really contributed to the positive experience I had in the writing program. If you foster those relationships while you’re in school, it’s likely that they will stay with you and impact you long after you graduate.
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