BACKPACK UMN WORK
Throughout my time at the student-run communications agency Backpack UMN (formerly called CLAgency), I worked as a Content Creator (formerly called Account Executive) for the Department of Spanish & Portuguese Studies where I wrote three to four feature stories per semester for an e-newsletter that was disseminated to nearly 2,000 alumni. Below you'll find the complete list of feature stories that I wrote during the three semesters I served as a Content Creator.
I also served as a Senior Account Manager, where I was responsible for overseeing the planning and execution for several assigned clients, one of which was the Minnesota Census. You'll find the strategy work that we did for the Minnesota Census below as well.
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You can also take a look at this article in the Star Tribune about how CLAgency was expanding as a student-run agency. The article landed the front page of the business section, which provided the agency with some great exposure that led to even more clients for the organization.
FEATURE STORIES FALL 2018
Literature as a Tool to Change the World
Sandra Rellier and Ana Claudia Dos Santos São Bernardo are both recipients of the doctoral dissertation fellowship (DDF). With personal connections to and passion for their work, six years of graduate school have prepared them for a professional life in the world of academia.
A Taste of College
College in the Schools is a program that provides highly motivated high school students the opportunity to take college courses in a high school setting— with the chance to earn college credit, too. Cristina Castro, who coordinates the CIS Spanish program, explains the program’s impact on students and how it engages Minnesota’s high schools with the University.
The Thirst for Justice
After the far-right government executed more than 3,000 young civilians, many Colombian mothers have become dedicated social activists. As part of a Grand Challenge Research Initiative grant and the CLA Dean’s First-Year Research & Creative Scholars Program, a trio of undergraduate students traveled to Soacha, Colombia to interview some of these women. Olivia Nortwen, Sydney Provinzino, and Kylie Sievers explore how mothers are transforming the Colombian social landscape. Their research received the award for “Best Scholarly Presentation” at the 2018 Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Conference.
FEATURE STORIES SPRING 2018
FEATURE STORIES FALL 2017
Conference
Confidence
The annual Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Conference provides a platform for students to share their academic work in a professional setting. It’s an experience that co-chairs of the event, Maryanne Williams Smoczyk and Danielle Dadras, believe allows for students to grow academically and professionally: “The College is placing emphasis on professionalization and readiness as a way to help students understand their potential in the work world.”
A Fear of Empty Spaces
Mónica de la Fuente Iglesias and José Aguirre co-chaired a conference that bridged the gap between Spanish and Lusophone disciplines and provided new approaches as how to best address different kinds of emptiness in research. Read more about how the Graduate Student Conference filled voids in research.
Can You Tell a Joke?
Assistant Professor Mandy Menke connected the research and teaching of second languages to define the term "advanced" through a conference she hosted called Evolving Perspectives on Advancedness: A Symposium on Second Language Spanish.
The Untold Story of 21st Century Artists in Brasília
Associate Professor Sophia Beal, a recent Talle Research Award recipient, is determined to tell the untold story of how different cultural groups are shifting the way public space is utilized in Brasília, Brazil.
A recent Regis Center exhibit showcased emotional photo montages of human rights violations by the Argentinian, Uruguayan, and Brazilian dictatorships in the 1970s and ‘80s.
Building Students' Confidence through En Vivo!
Spanish Professor Frances Matos-Schultz and her colleague Adolfo Carrillo Cabello are conducting research on how a new online coaching program is improving students’ Spanish speaking skills and increasing their confidence speaking the language in and outside the classroom.
OTHER CLIENT & MARKETING WORK
MN Census Phase 1 Deliverable
I worked as the Account Manager for Backpack's partnership with the Minnesota Census. This document highlights phase 1 of our work, which includes insights from Gen Zers about the Census and the implications for messaging so that the campaign could best encourage college students to fill out the 2020 census.
MN Census Phase 2 Deliverable
This document highlights phase 2 of Backpack's work with the Minnesota Census, which includes the specific tactics and recommendations for how the Minnesota Census can best target college students and encourage them to fill out the census.
MN Census Creative Brief
This document is a creative brief that was used to inform Backpack's creative team about the creative deliverables that would eventually be used for the Minnesota Census on various social media platforms.