December 10, 2012
In today’s day and age, the start of your career could be just a
tweet away, and no one knows that better than young alumna Jessica
Williams ’09CPS.
This
outgoing professional was recently hired as the Social Media
Coordinator for the new The Ricki Lake Show, which
premiered across the nation this past September. Williams – who had
previously worked for three years at Astoria Federal Savings Bank
in New York – is quick to point out that she got her new job in a
rather unconventional way.
“I was on my daily job search,” she explained, “when I heard that
Ricki Lake was coming out with a new talk show. I also heard that
she would be airing one of her production meetings live on
the Internet through UStream. So I tuned in, and while watching
that meeting, I noticed that there were twitter handles set on the
boardroom table like place cards. I jotted down each of the handles
and reached out to them.”
Williams sent a tweet to the Executive Vice President of
Programming and Development, asking how and where she could submit
her resume. She received a quick response, secured herself an
interview and ultimately landed the job.
Now, Williams is living in Los Angeles, loving her job and excited
about her future.
“I’m happy to say that no two days are quite the same as the Social
Media Coordinator for The Ricki Lake Show,” she said. “I’m
responsible for managing the online community and campaigns that
build brand awareness and promote traffic to our social-media
pages. Additionally, I assist with the production of the daily live
UStream of After Ricki, a behind-the-scenes post-show that
allows audiences to speak with Ricki and the entire creative
team.”
For Williams, embracing new forms of media comes naturally, and she
credits much of her adaptability to her St. John’s education. In
particular, she cites her courses in Broadcast Journalism as having
taught her how to easily convey information to large audiences, and
she also looks back fondly on the internships she secured through
the University, at famous entertainment studios including NBC, Hot
97 and Sony’s Jive Label Group.
“I originally had my heart set on attending college outside of New
York,” Williams explained. “After all, I was born and raised in
Queens. But that was before I made a visit to St. John’s
and fell in love with the campus, faculty and the education it
offered. Not only did I have the opportunity to major in
Communication Arts and minor in Business, but I was taught by
professors who were still active in their industries, which made
for a great classroom environment.”
Ultimately, Williams hopes to use her experience to inspire and
encourage others who follow in her footsteps and aspires to one day
produce programs that motivate and change the lives of their
audiences.
And next time she’s in New York, you can be sure that she’ll be
visiting campus!
“The faculty over there is like my extended family,” Williams
said. “To walk across campus is like taking a trip down memory lane
– to pass by where I lived in the Residence Village, to sit
in St. Thomas More Church. I’ll always feel like that’s my home
away from home.”