Jessica Columbo '07
Major: English
Job Title: Principal/Founder
Organization: Med|Ed Digital
Host Date: Monday, January 8, 2018
Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Location: Portland, OR

What student groups/clubs/activities were you involved in when you were a student at Puget Sound?

  • The Trail newspaper
  • The literary magazine
  • Alpha Phi sorority (fraternity)
  • Vagina Monologues
  • Intramural sports

How would you describe your role and organization?

I'm a social media strategist in Portland, Oregon - and I've recently founded my own shop, servicing clients in health care, higher ed, finance, and many others.

On any given day, I'm attending a networking event, meeting with clients to strategize their next digital marketing program, preparing a digital advertising campaign, training clients' in-house teams, lecturing to college students, or presenting at a regional conference.

How would the skills and competencies gained through a liberal arts education be beneficial in the type of work you do?

Writing was my first love - and a skill I practiced and honed at UPS. I was a creative writing major, who got a lot of tough love from great professors and had a variety of academic and "just for fun" opportunities to write in different contexts and genres.

I also took classes in things like psychology and media theory - areas of academia that continue to shape my approach to my creative and strategic work today.

What can a student expect to experience by job shadowing you?

They'll be on the move. They'll be exposed to a variety of clients and work experiences - calls, strategy development, ideation, training. It'll be a fun, fast-paced day.