Sharpening skills and gaining credentials
July 25, 2024
Kennedy Ryan MS’24 pursued a Brandeis Online degree to hone her marketing expertise.
Students come to Brandeis Online with a diverse range of academic and professional backgrounds. Some enter with the intentions of starting an entirely new career path, while others — like Kennedy Ryan MS’24 — enter with years of hands-on experience in their fields of study.
As someone who pursued an undergraduate degree in communications, Kennedy discovered her passion for marketing early on. She found herself excited by “the idea of convincing consumers to make a decision based on an advertisement or campaign they’ve seen” — and working as a marketing intern at her school only strengthened her love for the field.
“College is such an exciting time in people’s lives,” Kennedy told GPS. “If you can convince a student to spend that time at your school, I feel like that’s really impactful.”
After graduating early in 2019, Kennedy continued to work at her school — but because of the pandemic, she was only able to stay in the position for a few months. Unwilling to let COVID-19 stall her career, Kennedy entered the world of freelance marketing, partnering with local businesses to build websites, design new logos, and manage all areas of communications. Soon after, she took on a role in marketing communications, before eventually getting a job at Brandeis University — which is where she was introduced to Brandeis GPS.
Although Kennedy had years of hands-on experience, she decided to pursue a master of science in Digital Marketing and Design to further develop her skills and gain additional marketing credentials. Despite the practical knowledge Kennedy had gained from her freelance and higher education work, there were some areas in marketing that she had never found the time to explore.
“One of the biggest benefits of the [GPS] program was that it forced me to complete certain online programs, like Google Ads,” Kennedy explained. “I always knew that I should have that experience, but it wasn’t until taking the GPS class that I sat down to do it. So that’s a really useful skill that I’ve gained.”
The course Kennedy took in project management has also proven to be invaluable. “Outside of my full time job, I have my own clients, and I manage their social media accounts, websites, and emails,” Kennedy told GPS. “In the search for new clients, I’m finding that the project management course was really helpful, because it taught me to define the scope of the work I’m doing and to be more specific with deadlines.”
Aside from specific course content, the overall experience of earning a degree while working full time was a learning opportunity in itself. While she did take two courses some sessions, Kennedy found that taking one class per session was the best strategy to maximize learning while staying on top of other responsibilities. The structure of GPS courses — with work being due on Tuesdays and Saturdays — also helped Kennedy to balance her studies with her day-to-day work, because it was “very scheduled and habitual.”
Throughout her time with GPS, Kennedy was happy to discover the culture of support. At one point, she was struggling to keep up with coursework — and a faculty member reached out to check in and offer flexibility. “They’re there to help you,” Kennedy told GPS. “And if you have a trip coming up or life happens, just let them know and they’ll accommodate.”
Making connections with faculty outside of class was also a crucial part of Kennedy’s GPS experience. “I took the time to connect with each of [my instructors] on LinkedIn, and there were a few faculty members that I had one-on-one Zoom calls with to learn more about their work outside of the classroom,” Kennedy said. “That opportunity to network really stood out to me.”
Since earning her GPS degree, Kennedy has taken on a new position at the Harvard Business School, being the sole communications manager for the Digital Transformation program. While much of Kennedy’s day-to-day work requires her to employ skills developed in previous roles — including creating video content, managing social media, and collaborating with partnered agencies — she has found that just the act of holding a GPS degree has had an impact on her ability to succeed.
“I’ve gotten that hands-on experience in managing social campaigns with clients and in my full-time roles,” Kennedy said, “but having a master’s degree has really shown people that I have expertise, especially as the only marketing and communications professional in my department. My managers consistently mention that I have a master’s degree when presenting me to other people, just because it provides that kind of built-in trust.”
Overall, Kennedy looks back fondly upon her time at GPS — especially the commencement ceremony, because she was not able to have one for her undergraduate degree. “It was really nice to walk the stage in May, with my mother and my partner watching,” Kennedy told GPS. “I was finally able to get academic closure. So that was a special moment for me.”
Going forward, Kennedy hopes to use her GPS degree to either expand her work with local businesses or fully dedicate herself to working in higher education. For now, Kennedy will continue to make an impact in both these fields, using her skills — and newly earned credentials — to help both businesses and institutions flourish.
To learn more about the Digital Marketing and Design program at Brandeis Online, please visit our website.