Jade Tully graduated from Chapman in 2006 with a B.A. in Communication Studies. Below she talks about how she became interested in mass media and the digital marketing world and how her degree helped her throughout her career.

Where do you work and what is your job title?
I am a Digital Business Team Supervisor at Shimano North America

What does your job entail?
I manage our business to business website with multiple brands to sell our bike products across the US and Canada. From content, to product management, email marketing, and sales.

How did you decide to pursue a career in digital merchandising and marketing?
I was really fascinated by mass media in general. During my time in college, Facebook still required a .edu email to login. It was growing and so was the digital space. I knew I wanted to be involved somehow!

How has your communication degree benefited you in your career?
Communication is key. The best line a teacher told me in class about mass media was “you don’t tell people what to think, you tell them what to think about”. That blew my mind. I was hooked.

From there, how we communicate and what we communicate taught me so much. From interpersonal skills to professional communication, I evolved so much as a person with this major.

What advice do you have for undergraduate students or recent graduates?
You must be flexible. Just because AI is cool, or Instagram is cool, it’s not for everyone or every job. Though it is important to know these skills and how it can help, not every job will thrive on the current communication in “today’s” world. We, at Shimano, still do print. HEAVY on print… shocks me, but we make money. Learn all you can and take ALL the knowledge with you. It will be useful. I studied the growth of newspapers with Professor Levy but also learned about media ethics in news and online. It is ALL relevant and all important to know how we used to communicate, why we communicate, what we communicate, and so on!