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“I
truly believe that everything I have to do at my job
now, I had to do at one point in college.” |
When Amy Berry graduated from
Huntington University in 2007, she had no idea where her
bachelor’s degree in
public relations would take her. Just a year after earning
her degree, she ended up back in her hometown of Marion, Ind.,
with a position in marketing and community relations at New Hope
Hospice.
The position involves the marketing
of New Hope Hospice’s services to nursing homes, doctors’
offices and hospitals in Marion, Muncie, Peru, Huntington and
Fort Wayne. She is also in charge of all the media advertising,
including radio, newspaper, magazine and phonebook ads. She says
one of the most enjoyable parts of her job is preparing for
luncheons and fundraisers, including networking within area
communities.
“The biggest challenge of my job at
the beginning was getting used to the hospice field,” Amy says.
“Death is not something anyone wants to deal with, but it’s
something that affects everyone.”
But Amy came to embrace what New
Hope Hospice is all about and has found joy in her work.
“Hospice is the most underutilized
Medicare benefit, and it’s the most satisfying benefit,” she
says. “Once you see how your team works and what a benefit our
services are, not only to the patient, but also to the family,
your outlook changes.”
Her degree in public relations
required Amy to take a variety of communication and business
classes, each one preparing her for her position in a different
way.
“I truly believe that everything I
have to do at my job now, I had to do at one point in college,”
Amy says. “For example, I had to create a marketing plan in
college for a local business. I am now creating my own marketing
plan consisting of radio ads, television commercials, newspaper
ads, marketing goodies and brochures.”
Amy points to her professors as one
of the greatest assets of her time at HU. She cites the example
of Dr. Kevin Miller, associate professor of
communication, as having a profound impact on her.
“Every time we had to write an
article or paper, Dr. Miller was always willing to go over it
with me,” Amy says. “He let me know what worked and what didn’t.
Even if the paper wasn’t for his class, he would still offer
ideas.”
Besides coursework, Amy learned
about public relations through practical experiences such as
practicums and her internship with College Mentors for Kids in
Indianapolis. As part of her internship, Amy helped plan the
organization’s fall retreat, obtained free tickets for their
first alumni event, created and retooled more than 120 activity
plans for children and updated the Web site. The university’s
Enterprise Resource Center connected Amy
with College Mentors for Kids.
“If you are serious about public
relations, I would make sure that you do some internships
because it’s challenging to find jobs in PR with no experience,”
Amy says.
During her
tenure at Huntington, Amy was one of the standouts of the
women’s basketball team, having been named Forester Athlete of
the Week 10 times, selected as a Mid-Central College Conference
First Team member twice and
was an NAIA Third Team
All-America selection. She says the experience taught her how
best to manage her time, how to work hard and how to communicate
with others, all vital skills that she uses daily at New Hope
Hospice.
Marketing New
Hope Hospice’s services came rather easily to Amy as she was the
marketer for HU’s Fuse 105.5 FM. As the marketer, she collected
more than $1,000 worth of prizes and money for giveaways from
local businesses. This experience gave Amy a foundation in sales
and marketing.
But one of the most life-changing
experiences for Amy was the impact HU had on her spiritual
growth.
“I grew spiritually in college and
would say thanks to my college experience, my faith is still at
a level way above what it probably would have been if I had gone
to a state college,” Amy says.
Seeing her faith revealed in her
career is something that Amy looks forward to daily. The people
she interacts with at nursing homes and hospitals inspire her
faith, and that is one of the most rewarding parts of her job.
Berry recalled
her first day on the job when she was touring the facility with
one of the chaplains. They met up with a lady and stopped to
talk with her. Amy listened to the woman’s life story and says
she will never forget the final words the woman said to her that
day: “God has put me through all this so I can share my story
with others to bring them joy.”
“I knew then
and there God had put me there,” said Amy. “It was amazing, and
she showed me exactly how I want my faith to be shown everyday.”
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