This is my résumé saved as a PDF file. It does not include all my jobs and is not tailored to any particular position.
These are some of the most frequently asked questions I've heard from employers after they've scanned my résumé.
Where are you from, and why should I care?
I was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. As Iowa's largest city and the state's capital, Des Moines boasts an impressive public school system where students consistently score well on standardized tests. My high school was one of the best in the district and had a proud history of famous alumni, most notably the accomplished author and journalist Bill Bryson. So thanks to my early education, I have been predisposed to success.
Why did you choose to attend college at Bradley, were you just too good for Drake?
Learning, by definition, involves new experiences. In order to broaden my background, I decided to leave the only city I'd ever known and settle in a new one 300 miles away. Though it turned out that Peoria wasn't very different from Des Moines (they both smell funny), attending Bradley did force me to step outside my comfort zone. Plus the fat presidential scholarship Bradley awarded me for academic achievement totally beat all my other offers.
What possessed you to declare a major in the devil's art, I mean PR?
Originally I wanted to be a multimedia major, as I had dabbled in graphic design and web development for a long time. But several English teachers told me they enjoyed reading my papers, and I feared my writing would wither in a field dominated by audio and video. Ultimately I decided on PR because it allowed me to hone my verbal abilities and build off my technical knowledge. So far the synthesis has done well, since the soul of PR lies in creating messages and then using technology to deliver them.
When did you escape the Bradley Bubble, and how are you living outside?
I graduated Magna Cum Laude in December 2006, after just 3½ years at Bradley. I managed to complete all my coursework a full semester early (or two, if you consider the number of students on the "five year plan") while working about 25 hours per week at two part-time jobs. My transition to the business world has been a lot like Frodo's trip to Mordor, but I've survived the journey by using the same skills I learned back in the Shire. Being able to craft content and then communicate it to others are talents that come in handy no matter what the setting.