After living her life in the South, Southeastern graduate Jasmine Tate found her way to Southern California, growing in her dream career as marketing and communications manager at TGR Foundation—a Tiger Woods Charity located in Irvine, California.
Tate graduated Southeastern in the fall of 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication with concentrations in public relations and organizational communication and a minor in Spanish. She finished her undergraduate program decorated with accomplishments.
She always knew she had a passion for communication. “I knew when I applied to Southeastern and was accepted that I wanted to study and later practice public relations,” she said.
After graduate school at the University of Southern Mississippi, she began working at Inland Empire United Way in Southern California, starting on her new adventure away from home. While there, she learned about the position with TGR Foundation through LinkedIn. She was offered the job and has been there ever since.
It takes courage for a person to take the steps to pursue a career away from home. Tate was ready for the experience and the challenges to come. She believes her education primed her for the real world.
Tate said, “Southeastern prepared me for my career through knowledge, support, and hands-on experience. There is nothing that I’ve done in my career that I didn’t do at Southeastern. Although internships and experiences outside of the classroom helped me learn and prepare for success, what I learned in the classroom was equally important.” Her job at the TGR Foundation consists of writing, editing, photography, social media management and many other responsibilities.
Tate believes Southeastern classes, such as Dr. Carol Madere’s special events planning class, Dr. Amber Narro’s convergence media class, and Dr. Joseph Mirando’s public speaking class, all prepared her for the future. She said she uses things she learned in those classes in her work today. From video editing in Narro’s class to planning events in Madere’s class, she said the skills she learned will stay with her forever.
Tate especially noted how Mirando’s public speaking class helped her along the way. “I gained confidence and comfortability speaking in front of audiences and grew to love it,” she said. “I got to use those skills in Comm 498 when I was starting PRSSA [the Public Relations Student Society of America] to speak to students in Comm 101 about the organization and why they should join and later to lead chapter meetings. When I was working at United Way, leading tours of our facilities was one of my favorite responsibilities.”
Tate believes that she owes it to Southeastern for laying the foundation for her to launch her career and be successful. She also believes that it is important to remember the things she learned and to hold on to them.
Mirando says that Tate was a wonderful student who was very involved and passionate about what she was doing. He pushed her to start the first Southeastern PRSSA chapter. This PRSSA chapter remains today, allowing her to leave her mark on Southeastern.
Along with PRSSA, Tate was involved in many other organizations. She was in the Organizational Communication Association (OCA), Press Club, Spanish Club, and other religious and service organizations. At the University of Southern Mississippi, she continued her involvement in PRSSA and eventually became president. She also gained awards for herself in PRSSA along with chapter awards.
After she started her professional career, she joined the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and is still a current member. Tate recently attended the International Conference. “I was fortunate enough to attend the PRSA International Conference last year in San Diego,” she said. “It was awesome to see the Southeastern PRSSA chapter in town for its national conference as well. It was truly a full-circle moment.”
Tate says it is important to pay attention to what one learns in school and be involved to learn as much as you can. “Although it’s hard to say what my future looks like for sure, I know God has great plans for me,” she said. “If I could choose, I’d definitely say it includes working in community relations, teaching adjunct and speaking to students around the world through keynote presentations, panels and workshop facilitation opportunities. That’s a dream life for me in terms of my career.”
By D. Emile Stretcher Jr.
