Erika LeGendre is currently a second-year MCOM scholar. She was born and raised in North Charleston, SC and received her undergraduate degree in Communication with a minor in Health from the College of Charleston in 2014. Erika is also a first-generation college student, and will earn her Master’s degree in May 2017.
What are your plans following graduate school?
Following graduate school, I would like to work as a MARCOMM (marketing and communications) professional in higher education or in employee communication in some form or fashion. I feel that the program will render me to be well-equipped to do anything I want with communications as the focus.
Why did you choose the MCOM program at College of Charleston?
I learned quickly that having a bachelor’s degree was a mere minimum qualification for the types of jobs I wanted, and a master’s was preferred. I thought for sure I was finished with school after I graduated from my undergraduate program, but school, in general, had become such an integral part of my life for so many years that once I was out I was going stir-crazy not being in school! I could have left [the Charleston area] for graduate school, but I appreciated my communication classes so much at CofC that I never truly felt finished with the institution after graduating. I felt like my undergraduate career was only sprinkled with communication classes and I wanted more. It doesn’t hurt that I live in the city next to Charleston!
Are you currently working on anything you’d like to talk about? Are you working in addition to taking classes?
I currently work as an administrative assistant at Trident Technical College. It is my first position in higher education, so I am learning important professional skills like maintaining positive working relationships inter-departmentally and creative problem solving. I am also slated to present in Dallas, TX at Paul Quinn University at the 2016 HBCUstory Symposium; the presentation is based on research I conducted through a summer independent study.
Fun fact about yourself!
No one in my immediate family calls me by my first name, and I won’t tell you my nickname. 🙂
