{"id":5306,"date":"2023-05-19T00:12:31","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T00:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/?p=5306"},"modified":"2023-05-19T00:13:02","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T00:13:02","slug":"purdue-masters-in-communication-student-balances-graduate-studies-with-an-international-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/purdue-masters-in-communication-student-balances-graduate-studies-with-an-international-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Purdue Master\u2019s in Communication Student Balances Graduate Studies with an International Career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Already a successful international communication professional, Ye Ji Lee needed a graduate program that would enable her to continue working for the United Nations in Jordan. While browsing possible options, Purdue University\u2019s online Master of Science in Communication<\/a> stood out.<\/p>\n

\u201cPurdue\u2019s program had multiple features that made it the clear choice,\u201d Lee said. \u201cIt was completely online, so I could continue working while completing it; and it was specifically designed for professionals, so there were lots of potential networking opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s passion for international advocacy and volunteerism has taken her around the world. After graduating from McGill University in Canada with a bachelor\u2019s degree in International Development, she accepted a position as a communications assistant at the Korea Association for the Environment in South Korea. While working in South Korea, she became a volunteer for the United Nations , eventually relocating to Uganda where she worked as a communications and advocacy officer. Then she accepted another position with the UN. in Jordan, where she still works as a communications officer for UN Women, a UN unit that focuses on women\u2019s empowerment.<\/p>\n

Lee enjoys her international career and says it has afforded her the opportunity to live many different places and hear many different stories. As a communication professional, stories are at the center of Lee\u2019s advocacy, and she is always looking for ways to expand her storytelling and communication skills. That\u2019s why she decided to start researching master\u2019s degree programs last year, in the hopes that getting a master\u2019s would give her more opportunities within the U.N. and other international agencies.<\/p>\n

Lee started Purdue\u2019s program in spring 2022, and she\u2019s already reaping the benefits. The online program\u2019s flexibility — all of the classes are asynchronous — has made it easier for Lee to fit graduate studies into her busy work schedule, especially considering Jordan is seven hours ahead of West Lafayette, Indiana. She also appreciates getting to collaborate with her classmates, who include professionals from dozens of different fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so deeply focused on nonprofit work, so it\u2019s good to be able to work with people in the for-profit sector and in academia as well,\u201d Lee said. \u201cCollaborating with classmates who have lots of different experiences has helped me understand my field and role better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though all of Lee\u2019s classes are online, she says she never feels bored by the virtual content. Her teachers hold a synchronous meeting once a week that helps the students experience more of a \u201cclassroom feel.\u201d She also has an easy time connecting course topics to her career goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first started working as a communication professional, I had no training in public relations, so I had to learn by doing,\u201d Lee said. \u201cBeing able to pursue my master\u2019s and develop in-depth knowledge of the field has grown my expertise and boosted my confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lee is currently taking a course in communication ethics, which she says has been very useful in her job as a communications officer at the U.N., where she creates stories, social media strategies, and other content focused on gender equality and women\u2019s empowerment in Jordan. She looks forward to the courses she\u2019ll take in the future, like social media and crisis management.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese courses are directly applicable to my field,\u201d Lee said. \u201cI don\u2019t use social media much in my personal life, but I\u2019m tasked with creating social media campaigns all the time, so I think being able to take a course in that will give me a great perspective on strategy. It\u2019s very practical.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also noticed the way Purdue\u2019s program encourages collaboration between herself and other students. She\u2019s learned a lot of tips and tricks from her classmates, such as how to track social media posts, develop different social media campaigns, and customize messaging for different contexts.<\/p>\n

Lee still has a couple of years before she graduates, but she\u2019s already thinking about the kinds of opportunities the degree can afford her. Since volunteering and advocacy are her foremost passions, she wants to continue a career focused on international advocacy and creating strong, integrated volunteer networks to do social good.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m open to working anywhere in the world, I\u2019d like to continue to experience new communities,\u201d Lee said. \u201cCommunication is very important when you have an international experience, because you realize every local context is different, and the same message will land differently depending on where you are and who you\u2019re talking to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although balancing a busy career with pursuing a master\u2019s has been challenging, Lee doesn\u2019t mind the late nights spent studying and working through her virtual courses — being back in school makes her feel closer to accomplishing her goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe communications field is changing all the time, so there\u2019s always more to learn,\u201d Lee said. \u201cFor me, learning and telling stories is also about making the world a better place for everyone to live in. It\u2019s a way of making people feel more connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about Purdue\u2019s online Master of Science in Communication, including how to apply, at the program\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Already a successful international communication professional, Ye Ji Lee needed a graduate program that would enable her to continue working for the United Nations in Jordan. While browsing possible options, Purdue University\u2019s online Master of Science in Communication stood out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":4993,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[132],"tags":[133],"class_list":["post-5306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-online-master-of-science-in-communication","tag-online"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5306"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5307,"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5306\/revisions\/5307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cla.purdue.edu\/communication\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}