This week marks 5 years at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).
Throughout the years, I’ve held three different positions, and worked in two different parts of the college. For the first four years, I spearheaded marketing efforts at an academic unit called Open Studies, which administers programming for K-12 students and adults seeking to upskill their creative practice in non-degree continuing education courses or fully online master’s programs. And currently, am the Director of Marketing for the college, situated in the central communications office.
I have managed to build modern marketing frameworks and implement paid digital marketing campaigns amongst many other initiatives. I leveraged what I learned in Open Studies to help centralize marketing efforts for the college. My contributions have provided both the academic unit and the college with the marketing tools to effectively support students, staff, faculty, and community partners.
As I reflect on these past five years, I’ll keep the same framework I used in my first anniversary post and will share five takeaways and milestones that have colored my experience in the most enriching ways.
The Power of Collaboration: I've realized that documenting, showcasing, and sharing information or narratives can catalyze change. Working within close-knit groups, spanning departments, not only fosters transformation over time but also forges enduring connections beyond “just work.”
Leadership Opportunities: I was honored to be invited by the president to be part of a national search committee tasked with selecting MICA's next VP of Human Resources. This experience broadened my perspective on the hiring process, what to look for in candidates seeking executive leadership positions, and how to evaluate them.
Surveys, Insights, and Real Impact: When the pandemic hit, we faced challenges, but we also saw incredible resilience. I co-lead initiatives to launch internal surveys, understanding the sentiments of our staff and faculty about working at MICA. Presenting those insights to our leadership provided a framework to institutionalize policies shaped by the collective voices of my colleagues.
Academic Engagement: I stepped into classrooms and studio spaces as a co-teacher of the MFA in Photography + Media & Society. This experience provided such a profound connection with the students. I learned so much about their work, why they joined the program and the impact that they want to make in the world. It was an honor to be part of this class, which was founded and guided by the wisdom and generosity Director, Bill Gaskins.
Fostering External Partnerships: external partners aren't just collaborators; they're an extension of an organization. Over the years I’ve met with our partners consistently and learned so much about them, marketing operations, and so much more. Shoutout to Elsmere Education, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Mission Media, Human Being Productions – each one contributing to the vibrant heartbeat of MICA's marketing efforts. In the midst of challenges – from navigating online classes during the pandemic to understanding the intricacies of the students – I also learned that getting to know each other and sharing our personal journeys, sparked conversations that brought us closer to our shared goal of making MICA a better place for students, faculty, and colleagues.
Milestones over the years:
Developed a brand identity refresh for the Open Studies academic unit to be better positioned in the market, which resulted in maintaining a consistent message, look, and feel to attract new students to the institution. Here’s a sample of what the brand toolkit looks like.
Hired and onboarded my first marketing hire and direct report at MICA in 2021. She was able to speed up a lot of the marketing tasks and launch a project management system that has now been instituted at the college. P.S. we use Asana.
Sponsored and supported a local podcast to help tell the story of Open Studies programming, alumni, faculty, and staff. You can listen to them here!
Co-produced the first intro brand video for the Art and Design College Accelerator Program (ADCAP). You can view it here!
Developed the campaign brief and strategy for MICAs first institutional paid marketing campaign, which launched in December 2023. If you’re on TikTok, check out MICA’s page @micamade or visit this site to explore more :)
My experience at MICA has been educational and rewarding, and I would be remiss to not mention my late, former boss, David Gracyalny who passed away on December 31, 2023. David was probably my biggest supporter at MICA. He was the one who hired me, who believed in all of my ideas, gave me incredible and invaluable feedback, and who fought tooth and nail to make sure myself, our team, and our students and faculty had everything we needed to succeed. The past few weeks of the new year I have been feeling all sorts of emotions, grieving while working, and reading beautiful messages from colleagues, students, and alumni who paid tribute to David. I already miss him dearly, and his impact will be felt for generations to come.