Kennon found a passion for TikTok marketing while doing freelance social media work during the COVID-19 pandemic. She saw TikTok as an up-and-coming platform and decided to make an account for a small mocktail company. She grew this platform from zero followers to 63,000 followers in a week. That’s when Kennon knew she was on to something.

After receiving her masters degree from University of Alabama and working a marketing agency job, Kennon started seeking out opportunities to return to TikTok content creation on a more full time basis. Once again Kennon leveraged her social media knowledge, and connected with the social media manager from The Knot on LinkedIn, who also happened to be an University of Alabama graduate.

She went on to land an interview with the company, and eventually a job. Kennon credits this to the use of social media to advance her career, something she believes can benefit all college students.

“One of my biggest pieces of advice is to get on LinkedIn. It is the social network of the career world, and I would recommend getting involved and reaching out to professionals that you admire. You would be surprised to see who responds, or is even interested in meeting with you,” Kennon said.

Now, a typical day in Kennon’s life looks like filming videos, strategizing campaigns and analyzing TikTok trends to find what could best promote the company. Not to mention working with fun video subjects, such as TikTok comedian Erica Priscilla and several couples from the popular reality show Love is Blind.

These opportunities bring out her ultimate passions: telling stories and solving problems

“I love figuring out how to make content blow up on TikTok, which really brings out my resortitive strength. I do this through sharing stories and finding what resonates with people, which has always been a passion of mine as a former collegiate speech team member,” she said.

Her experience as a member of the forensics (speech) team at �㽶��Ƶ formed Kennon’s ability to tell compelling stories, something that she credits a large part of professional success to.

“I leverage what I learned from �㽶��Ƶ Forensics team in every single job and job interview I’ve ever had. Knowing how to give a presentation and back up my ideas with arguments has really helped give me confidence while working in the corporate world,” she said.

Not only did her extra-curricular experience at Hastings prepare her for the professional world, but also the academic portion of her education. As a Communications Studies major, Kennon learned how to effectively engage with people in a variety of settings.

“I always tell people that you can literally do anything with a communications degree, which is what makes it such a great degree,” she said. “You will be communicating with people in every single job you have, and it is so beneficial to truly understand how to do that.”

While Kennon is currently living her dream working at The Knot, and living in Boise, Idaho with her husband, she hasn’t stopped dreaming yet. Her future aspirations include eventually moving into a creative planning role at The Knot, and coaching collegiate speech and debate. In every aspect of her life she continues to strive toward learning and growth.

“I’ve learned to never put limits on yourself,” said Kennon. “You might end up working in a newly invented role, and you may even fall in love while doing it.”

By Landry Hinkson, a junior communication major from Bazaar, Kansas.

She was already scheduled for classes, assigned to a dorm and even a roommate, but with the help of �㽶��Ƶ alumna Cadi Kadlecek ‘06, changing colleges so late was achievable.

After her family came around to the idea of changing colleges, Spotts-Falzone assured them that speech was her passion and she had to follow it — even if that meant going to school nine hours away from home. Throughout that stressful time, Spotts-Falzone had a full line of support.

Spotts-Falzone met Kadlecek at a summer speech camp in Minnesota, where she was the assistant director of forensics. Spotts-Falzone says that Kadlecek has been one of the most influential people in her forensics career.

“At camp, she was my counselor and taught me so much about how to strengthen my voice and conquer not only speech rounds but also the classroom, my relationships and my life,” Spotts-Falzone said.

When Spotts-Falzone made the decision to transfer colleges, Kadlecek gave Spotts-Falzone not only a plethora of options and contacts, but also support behind whatever she chose to do.

“Cadi told me about her experience at Hastings and their forensics program, and from there, I decided Hastings would be the perfect fit for me. I honestly owe so much of where I am today to her,” Spotts-Falzone said.

Hastings welcomes her home

When Spotts-Falzone first stepped onto the College’s campus, she felt a reassuring feeling that she was home, despite her distance from where she grew up in Minnesota.

“I wasn’t mentally prepared to be so far away from home at a school I had just learned about a few weeks prior. However, after I met my new teammates, professors and fellow students at Hastings, I gradually got more and more comfortable,” Spotts-Falzone said.

Spotts-Falzone was not the only student who found their way to Hastings from Minnesota; Andrew Boge, Caleb Merritt, Cami Sharratt and Kenzie Shofner, who had met Spotts-Falzone previously at the summer speech institute, also transferred to Hastings.

“It was awesome that the five of us all ended up as teammates after all! I love and admire them all so much as competitors and people, and can’t imagine my life without them,” Spotts-Falzone said.

After Spotts-Falzone found her footing on campus, she became more involved in other activities and got to know her professors. Her transition went smoothly from there.

“Hastings is such a welcoming place, with such a tight-knit and caring group of students, professors, and administrators, I can’t imagine a more perfect first year!” Spotts-Falzone said.

Setting goals beyond competition

After winning Dramatic Interpretation in the first tournament of the season, Spotts-Falzone said she didn’t slow down or look back.

She had set several goals, but the two she focused on the most were based in competitive and mental success.

“I wanted to make someone feel so much after watching a performance that they cried, and make someone change their mind or think about an issue they hadn’t before,” Spotts-Falzone said.

Spotts-Falzone’s prose interpretation piece was about mental illness; accepting, validating and working through sad or dark feelings, and also appreciating the lighter moments.

“I will never forget when a girl came up to me after a prose round and said my performance helped begin the process to work on handling her depression; and to be honest, statements like that are worth more than all of the national championship plates in the world,” Spotts-Falzone said.

Hard work pays off with national success

Amid all of her classes, schoolwork and double majoring in journalism and communication studies, Spotts-Falzone tried to practice at least 20 hours per week, but her total time spent working on forensics greatly exceeded that.

“It took more discipline, self-motivation and time management skills than I knew I had,” Spotts-Falzone said.

Dr. John Perlich, professor of communication studies and forensics coach, told her throughout the season that she shouldn’t hold herself back just because she was a first year collegiate competitor.

All of her hard work culminated in bringing five events to the American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament (AFA-NIET) in Gainesville, Florida. She went on to the finals and finished third in program of oral interpretation, helping the Bronco Forensics team to place 15th in the nation.

“My goal for this year was just to perform, have fun and do my best competitively — although I dreamed of it, I never anticipated being able to perform on the national final stage,” Spotts-Falzone said.

Spotts-Falzone thinks the best thing about having this experience her freshman year is getting three more years to perform and share messages with the speech community and beyond.

“To say �㽶��Ƶ is like a big family is an understatement. The closeness I have with my peers and faculty is irreplaceable. The value of the education I am receiving both in the classroom and out is priceless,” Spotts-Falzone said. “Although I took a leap of faith and moved nine hours away on a whim, I landed at home — and to be honest, I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

By Jacilyn Bruns, a senior from Grand Island, Nebraska, majoring in Journalism

“Doing speech and debate familiarized me with every major area of policy, helped me recognize people and names and prepared me to speak professionally on the fly on the phone or in person,” she said. “It also taught me how to dress and act professionally.”

As a summer intern with ’ Washington, D.C., office, she worked within four areas a senator’s office.

“When I was on administration and tours, I drafted congratulatory and thank you letters, coordinated tour schedules and gave tours of the U.S. Capitol to constituents,” she explained. “When I worked in the front office, I answered phones and recorded constituents’ opinions.”

She also had the opportunity to assist Johanns’ legislative staff, researching policy topics and compiling information about amendments to an immigration bill under consideration by the Senate. Her stint in the office’s mail room included sorting and recording all the physical mail and e-mails the senator received.

Sierra’s internship clarified the path she wants to pursue after graduating from �㽶��Ƶ. The Political Science major from Gering, Neb., now sees law school and a political career in her future.

“I love this stuff. I never imagined myself as the kind of person who would want to move to Washington, D.C., and work on the Hill, but now I can really see myself doing this,” she said. “I’m even beginning to contemplate running for office someday — something I wasn’t really interested in before this internship. It sound cheesy, but seeing how flawed the system is right now and how divided we are by partisan politics makes me really want to change it for the better.”