Amanda Kujawa

Major: Communication Arts (Communication Science & Rhetorical Studies)

Certificate: Digital Studies

Graduation Date: May 2016

How did you end up at the Colorado School of Public Health?

Post-graduation in May 2016, I interned at ReviveHealth, a healthcare marketing agency in Nashville, TN. I learned the ins and outs of marketing in the healthcare landscape and had the opportunity to be mentored by a member of the in-house design team. I was able to grow my design skills in Adobe Creative Suite, understand how one navigates client needs and feedback, segment target audiences, and reach those audiences across all platforms. Once I finished the internship, I received my current job in Denver, CO.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My day-to-day responsibilities vary widely, as “communications” covers a vast landscape and turns us into Jacks and Jills of all trades. This is why I chose my major. I wanted to do it all. In my current role, my responsibilities include email marketing, social media management, photography and videography, graphic design, developing internal document and marketing templates, and managing various websites. Using today as an example, I began with a skim of the news to inform social media posts, updated our YouTube channel art, condensed a research publication into an infographic, formatted a scoring rubric to align with our branding, and am working on designing an event logo.

How has Digital Studies influenced your career path?

My Communication Arts degree grew my breadth of general knowledge in the communications landscape, but my Digital Studies Certificate provided me the depth. I gained concrete skills that I use in my job today, specifically HTML for coding email templates and working in Adobe Dreamweaver, understanding the dynamics of online relationships when targeting specific audiences, and my introduction to the Adobe Creative Suite itself in my Introduction to Digital Forms course. And my favorite class overall in the certificate was Com Arts 346: Digital Internet Studies with Professor Jeremy Morris – highly recommend!

Do you have any advice for current students?

Get involved and engage yourself in something you love. And if you don’t know what you love, UW is the place to find it. I had no idea what I wanted to do. So I took courses in Buddhism and meditation, ballet and band, anthropology and ethnography, videography and digital forms, persuasion and debate. I stumbled upon a layout designer opportunity with WUD Publications and discovered my love for graphic design. I worked at Peet’s Coffee in Union South and discovered I shouldn’t be a barista. I settled on a major my junior year and still somehow managed to graduate on time. My only regret is not taking even more advantage of everything UW has to offer.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career thus far?

I am passionate about educating folks on diet culture and eating disorders. Professionally, I am most proud of hosting a webinar about eating disorders in the workplace and how we can create a culture of support for those who are struggling or are in recovery.