The College of Business kick started a journalism student’s career

Anna Crabill, a student in the School of Media and Communication, never imagined that her experience would come from a college that she wasn’t enrolled in and a job she didn’t apply for. While Crabill’s specialization is in public relations her minor in marketing has created new ways for her to “go beyond business as usual.”

Her involvement with the College of Business began after she endorsed Dean Ray Braun on LinkedIn. He asked her to stop by his office and after she expressed her interest and knowledge of social media, he  saw potential and offered her an internship in the College of Business managing their social media efforts.

“Beginning my experience at the College of Business was a pivotal moment for me in my career,” said Crabill. “the dean took a chance on someone who wasn’t a business student, and I’m very grateful that he did.”

Crabill put her marketing skills to use managing a social media account for the CBA. She soon expanded her role from running one account to managing the entire social media operations of the CBA, which aided in increasing engagement by over 1000%. After a successful semester of managing accounts, Crabill wanted to be doing and learning more.

“I knew I had an opportunity in the College of Business to learn a lot about the industry that I was passionate about,” said Crabill. “Once I had learned everything I could about social media, I asked to help with larger projects.”

She then began assisting with a promotions plan for The Hatch. The plan helped bring more than 3,500 people to the event and was awarded the Gold District V CASE Award for Excellence in Special Events, Invitations and Collateral Materials.

Heading into her senior year, Crabill was actively assisting Amy West, the communications manager for the college with news releases, promotional content and feature stories.

“I truly believe that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for the College of Business, Dean Braun and Amy West,” remarked Crabill. “I not only learned technical skills, but I learned how to be a better networker and business professional. My work at the College of Business is a key reason why I was offered a job before graduation.”

In addition to working with the CBA as well as several other internships, Crabill participated in the Public Relations Student Society of America and was elected president of the organization after only one year of membership. She was recognized as a top student in the Public Relations sequence by the Journalism Department and despite her busy schedule, has remained on the dean’s list throughout her college career. 

After graduation, she will be moving to Columbus, Ohio to begin work as an inbound marketing coordinator at Adept Marketing.