The second interviewee on our Girl Boss lineup is Erika LeGendre. Erika graduated from CofC in 2014, and then again from the MCOM program in 2017. Following her many years on campus, she is now employed at the College. Erika teaches us to find parallels between school and your career, be passionate about your work, and if you love campus, don’t be afraid to stick around! Without further adieu, here’s a little glimpse into the professional life of Erika Legendre:
Tell me a little about yourself.
My name is Erika LeGendre and I’m from North Charleston. I’m a two-time alum of the College of Charleston. I graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor’s of Art in Communication and then again in 2017 with a Master’s of Art in Communication.
Tell me about your career.
E: I work here at the College in the School of Business as the associate director of marketing and communications. I am primarily responsible for the promotion of the undergraduate programming at the School.
What made you decide to pursue your Master’s degree in Communication?
E: If you had told me in undergrad that I would pursue a Master’s of any kind, I would have said ‘no way’. It wasn’t in my plans. But, I fell in love with the discipline of communication in my last two years of undergrad. It was almost bittersweet for me to graduate because I felt that I had just skimmed the surface of the field in my last two years. I decided after working for a year after graduating that I wanted to go back to study communication at the graduate level. I decided to come back to the College because I was already familiar with the atmosphere and the great faculty in the Department of Communication.
How did your experience in the MCOM program prepare you for your career?
E: It taught me the importance of making informed, data-driven decisions and tying all marketing communications decisions back to a mission statement and company values. It also taught me the importance of research. In my current field, market research and insights give communications professionals a safety net to make informed decisions.
Share your biggest accomplishment in your current position.
E: I’ve only been in the role for a few months now, but my biggest accomplishment so far has been planning and successfully executing the Impact Day event at the School of Business. It was a huge undertaking where we welcomed some of the most renowned impact investing experts from around the globe for a day of panels and networking. The purpose of the event was to position the College and the city of Charleston as the hub for businesses that make a difference and make a profit at the same time. We got to showcase a lot of students doing amazing things as young entrepreneurs – it was very inspiring! I’m happy I got the opportunity to do so.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your graduate/work experience?
E: It was great moving through the program with a cohort that sticks along with you through the entire thing. That’s something you don’t get from undergrad. I grew really fond of my cohort members and learned a lot from them.
