Originally published on October 28, 2017.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in professional writing, Diantha Leavitt quickly realized she’d need a master’s degree in order to progress and be successful in the ever-changing digital marketing world.
Wanting a competitive program that would give her an advantage and set her apart, Diantha found Southern Utah University’s Masters in Professional Communication program and quickly enrolled.
While at SUU, Diantha completed many projects that focused on university recruitment and student retention. She was able to attend classes and then apply those lessons in real-world situations.
“Looking back, what really made my SUU experience useful in my career was the ability to tailor papers and projects to my own interests,” said Diantha. “The program is very academic, but I could use my original classroom research to apply communication principles to what I was interested in.”
Many professors helped Diantha throughout her time at SUU, most notably Drs. Paul Husselbee and Matt Barton, faculty in strategic communication.
“The greatest part of SUU is that the professors have confidence in you,” said Diantha. “Grad school was not easy for me, and yet my professors kept encouraging me and pushing me to do my best. Dr. Husselbee never once thought I would do anything less than an outstanding job.”
Now, Diantha is the online content manager for Progressive Publishing, which publishes agricultural magazines in the U.S. and Canada. She oversees content on six social media accounts and four websites, produces electronic newsletters and analyzes web traffic. Her constant goal is to strategically increase traffic from targeted audiences to the websites and build the reputation of the magazines online.
“My education at SUU gave me confidence and helped me understand how people communicate,” said Diantha. “I did not think my work was good enough during my undergrad, but at SUU, I realized my potential.”
Visit the Master of Professional Communication webpage for more information.