Josh Mendelowitz

Major: History

Certificate: Digital Studies

Graduation Date: December 2016

What does a typical day in the office look like for you?

As a web marketer at Refinitiv, I work as part of a team that manages, optimizes and personalizes our websites in order to improve user experiences as well as sales for the company. Most of my time is spent editing web content, strategizing about search engine optimization, and using digital tools to better understand and advance the website.

How did you end up at Refinitiv?

After graduation, I moved back home to New York and started to work in digital and content marketing for some cool NY-based startups. In August 2017, I got an incredible opportunity to move to London and work as a digital strategist for Thomson Reuters, in their Finance and Risk department. While I was there, my team won the European Search Marketing Award for Best Campaign in the Finance Industry. Now, I’m back in NY, but still working for the same team, albeit with a new job title and company on my resume, as my division at Thomson Reuters has split off to become its own company, Refinitiv.

How has Digital Studies influenced your career path?

The Digital Studies Certificate inspired me to follow a career path in the digital space. As a history major, I have always loved storytelling and messaging. But, to construct and deliver your message in today’s society, you need to understand digital platforms. Through Digital Studies courses, I gained concrete digital skills (like HTML, CSS, and various Adobe tools) and the foundational understanding of the internet that I was searching for.

Did you have a favorite Digital Studies class when you were a student?

I really loved them all! Digital Media Fluency piqued my interest in digital. Then Intro to Digital Media Production with Prof. Hoyt was such a fun class that was jam-packed with valuable lessons in design, storytelling, web development, and video production. I was able to work on the city of Monona’s website in LIS 351, which was my first experience with usability testing and SEO. And Larry Meiller is a legend when it comes to audio production, which I got to experience when I took LSC 360 – Information Radio.

Do you have any advice for current students?

Take advantage of all the incredible resources at UW! Spend hours at College Library practicing your Adobe skills, learn from your brilliant peers working at DesignLab or the Writing Lab, go to your professor’s office hours, attend guest lectures from visiting speakers, join a student organization and get involved in a leadership role. There is so much learning right at your fingertips, so do your best to make the most of it!