So, as I let you know in my last post, I am now working in university relations writing press releases and feature stories. Well, I have to say that I have enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Yes, it is hours of sitting at a computer and writing; it heats my brain like a car with a bad radiator; and involves more problem-solving than trying to figure out what to make for dinner when you only have tuna fish, peanut butter, and peaches (I'll be interested to hear your ideas...); however, I am able to take away a bit of pride for the work that I do. Am I solving a world crisis? Pretty sure not. Am I fulfilling any dreams of becoming fabulously wealthy and providing my family with a cushy life? One penny at a time, baby.
The cool thing about my job is that most of the story ideas are mine, and I took subjects that were originally only going to have a small write up into full-length stories. Click here to read an article about High Plains Music Camp that I wrote. Almost all of my stories have been about the music department in some way, and I get to actually contribute something useful to the department.
The stories that I am most proud of were human interest stories that ended up getting far more attention than I anticipated.
The first and less successful of the stories was an article I wrote about the Coleman family who sends three violists to music camp every year. You can read that here.
One of the ladies that I work with posted it on the Fort Hays State University Facebook page, and then I reposted it to the FHSU Department of Music and Theatre page. (Make sure to like them!) I am an admin for the music and theatre department page, so I can see how many people have it appear on their news feeds.
The cool thing about my job is that most of the story ideas are mine, and I took subjects that were originally only going to have a small write up into full-length stories. Click here to read an article about High Plains Music Camp that I wrote. Almost all of my stories have been about the music department in some way, and I get to actually contribute something useful to the department.
The stories that I am most proud of were human interest stories that ended up getting far more attention than I anticipated.
The first and less successful of the stories was an article I wrote about the Coleman family who sends three violists to music camp every year. You can read that here.
One of the ladies that I work with posted it on the Fort Hays State University Facebook page, and then I reposted it to the FHSU Department of Music and Theatre page. (Make sure to like them!) I am an admin for the music and theatre department page, so I can see how many people have it appear on their news feeds.
I don't know if you see it, but as of taking this picture, the post had reached 1,120 people. That was just on the music department page. It had reached over 3,000 people on the university page and been shared 11 times (12 counting me putting it on the department).
However, that was nothing compared to the story I wrote about Galen Schmidtberger. I knew it would be a crowd-pleaser, but I had no idea how many people it would see it. You can read that here.
However, that was nothing compared to the story I wrote about Galen Schmidtberger. I knew it would be a crowd-pleaser, but I had no idea how many people it would see it. You can read that here.
Yep, over 3,000 people and 13 shares. However, on the university page it was shared 55 times and reached 17,000 people. That's 20,000 total! I don't think that I have ever done anything that has been exposed to that many people, even if they didn't pay any attention to it. I can't imagine getting that many people to even acknowledge that I exist. That's pretty cool.
It might be as close to viral as I ever get.
So, I might not be changing the world, but I like to think that I can positively impact the music department and orchestra recruitment by getting the word out about it. So, yes, I do feel some pride for what I am doing at my job. I'm using my talents and making some small impact on my community. And what is life without community?
It should be noted that I'm freaking out about that many people being exposed to my work, but there are probably doctors who can say that they have saved the lives of 20,000 people. That's amazing and humbling. However, I'm still pretty proud of what I have produced. We have to celebrate the small victories.
Celebrating a bit,
Rachel
It might be as close to viral as I ever get.
So, I might not be changing the world, but I like to think that I can positively impact the music department and orchestra recruitment by getting the word out about it. So, yes, I do feel some pride for what I am doing at my job. I'm using my talents and making some small impact on my community. And what is life without community?
It should be noted that I'm freaking out about that many people being exposed to my work, but there are probably doctors who can say that they have saved the lives of 20,000 people. That's amazing and humbling. However, I'm still pretty proud of what I have produced. We have to celebrate the small victories.
Celebrating a bit,
Rachel
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