Assistant Professor, University of North Dakota, Fargo M.A., Marquette University, ADPR (2002)

I chose Marquette because they had a strong program in Advertising and Public Relations but would also let me examine issues in intercultural communications. Joyce Wolburg was an inspiration; her classes were a good synthesis of culture, advertising and PR. I wanted to do what she was doing!

But getting a Ph.D. is a big undertaking. I wanted to be sure I liked being a professor. Joyce helped me find a one-year teaching gig at Northern Michigan University. I had a good experience there. It solidified for me that I wanted to teach Advertising.

If I was going to be a professor, I also needed experience in the field. So I worked in consumer marketing at The Post-Crescent. My focus was getting younger people back to the newspaper.

I chose the University of Tennessee Ph.D. program, with Joyce’s help. That’s one of the best things about Marquette: the professors do a nice job figuring out where your strengths are, where you belong.

Now I'm an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota, Fargo.