Lydia Dodd Email & Phone Number

When I started my college journey, I was at a loss when it came to choosing a major. On a whim, I enrolled in a communications course at Brightpoint Community College. Since then, my interest and passion for mass communions has only grown!When the time came for me to transfer to VCU I was excited to choose a concentration. Public Relations seemed right up my alley- and it is! My PR courses have been my favorite thus far in my time at VCU. I currently work as a communications assistant for an awesome organization called the Mellon Pathways Program. We hold personal and professional development events for students transferring to VCU. Throughout my time with the program, I have been a student, an intern, and am now a full-fledged employee! Here are some skills and tasks I have utilized in my role as a communications assistant:-Social media management: I manage the program's Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages. This includes posting content, creating captions, and updating our Linktree tool! Engaging our audience is the most important aspect of this, keeping up with trends and using tools like Instagram Stories are useful aids. -Content creation: Using Adobe Photoshop as well as Canva, I create graphics to be posted on our pages. I really enjoy making designs that catch the audience's eye. It is also important to keep branding consistent from the colors we use to the tone of a message! One project I recently completed was promoting our "Dual Admissions" initiative by creating a series of Reels for Instagram! This promotion increased audience engagement and awareness of the program.-Student interviews: The program sends out a weekly newsletter, within it is a section dedicated to spotlighting our students. I interview students for this spotlight, transcribe the interviews and upload them into Constant Contact! This is a great way to showcase how our program supports its students and increases understanding of what we do. -Workload prioritization: Because the program is an event based one, there are plenty of dates to keep track of. I first create a spreadsheet for each semester to track the dates, times, and locations of events. I then update the program's website calendar through WordPress. In between that, I am always looking ahead on our calendar to track when I need to create a social media graphic as well as when the optimal time to post it. As I begin my last semester as a senior(!) at VCU, I am so thankful to have found a field that thoughtfully challenges me. I cannot wait to pursue a career in the public relations profession!

Listed skills include Linguistics, Interpreting, Spanish, Translation, and 19 others.