Posted May 3, 2018
Ore Oluwole, SJMC '16, is the director of alumni relations at My Carolina Alumni Association.
What do you do in your current job?
As the director of alumni relations for My Carolina Alumni Association, I oversee
the association’s communications when it comes to social media, our monthly newsletter,
weekly emails and website management while communicating to diverse alumni audiences
through the association’s black alumni, young alumni and veterans alumni affinity
groups. In this role, I use project management on a daily basis by overseeing the
association’s internal project request form, implementing and delegating graphic design,
email marketing, scripting, copy writing, video production and webpage updates. My
overarching position deals with developing and implementing effective strategies in
the areas of alumni engagement and communications.
In my role I also hire videography students from the journalism school to take part in semester or yearly internships where they produce videos to strengthen My Carolina’s brand and online presence.
What’s the most interesting or significant thing you’ve done since graduating?
I’m constantly doing different things, but it never feels daunting because I’m doing
what I love. I have been at My Carolina for over a year and have had some remarkable
experiences already like interviewing Frank Martin to recognize him as our 2017 Honorary
Life Member, documenting the Richard T. Greener statue unveiling for our Black Alumni
Council, capturing students with their new class rings on the Horseshoe during Ring
Ceremony and cheering on our team and connecting with fellow Gamecocks at the Outback
Bowl in Tampa, Florida.
What are you passionate about in your work?
I am passionate about engaging the wide network of university alumni. It’s remarkable
all the amazing things our alumni are doing so I always love the chance to get to
know their story and share it. Since we live in a digital world getting alumni to
share their stories and support our university always plays an integral role in what
I do in communications. I oversee My Carolina’s social media ambassadors program and
it always amazes me how our alumni have the innate desire to stay in touch with us
and through that program, are more than willing to help spread the news of positive
stories, exciting events and volunteer and advocacy opportunities to help strengthen
our university now and in the future. This especially has been the case when it comes
to Homecoming, Carolina Day and now Give 4 Garnet.
What (if any) extracurricular experiences did you partake in as an undergraduate?
I learned so much in the classroom in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications
and even more with the beyond-the-classroom experiences. At the end of my sophomore
year, I applied mass media in an international setting with a Maymester class in Germany
with professors Scott Farrand and Andrea Tanner. With this experience, I traveled
with 24 other students in Munich and Berlin to learn and apply new story-telling and
communications methods to multimedia projects. It was a great learning experience
about the county as a whole. Something I also valued was learning how to work with
others in different communications fields because we all had different majors but
came together to research, document and produce several multimedia stories. This was
one of the core experiences that led me to graduate with leadership distinction in
global learning.
What did you learn as an undergraduate in the CIC that still resonates today?
This can never be underestimated, but learning how to write efficiently is something
that will always be relevant in my career. In classes I developed scripts, press releases,
public service announcements and media kits. In my positon now, I have to develop
all those things and fortunately this is not a daunting task because of the practice
I had as an undergraduate student. Learning journalistic principles and how to be
a media relations professional from the school led me to practice the craft in beyond-the-classroom
experiences. I mastered my writing as a reporter for the Daily Gamecock where I wrote
for the arts and culture section. From there I moved into media relations by interning
in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs my senior year. This was a key
experience because I developed a strong interest in combining my communications experience
within higher education.
Do you have a favorite professor or a favorite memory from your time here?
One of my favorite memories was the grand opening of the new journalism school in
2015. This was the beginning of my senior year and I knew this was the start of something
special. Plus, when you get a Hootie and the Blowfish concert, you can’t be disappointed.
The new building was sign of a better teaching and learning environment that reflected
the changing communications world and the growth expected to come — all right in the
heart of campus. Now I’m fortunate to still be at the University of South Carolina
where I can continue to be involved with the school whether it’s with Mentor Match,
presenting for Professor Lisa Sisk’s Public Relations Nonprofit Organizations class
or expanding my educational opportunities as a communications professional. I’m a
proud alumnus of the school because of the opportunities made available as an undergraduate
that have led me to a career that I love.