Student Spotlight

Name: Zoe Esperseth
Hometown: Murrysville, Pa.
Now living in: Murrysville, Pa.
Job title(s): Promotions and Marketing Assistant with Renda Broadcasting, Alumni Engagement and Outreach Assistant 
Employer: Renda Broadcasting and Office of Alumni Engagement and Giving, Point Park University 
Employer: Office of Alumni Engagement and Giving, Point Park University
Degree earned: B.A. in Mass Communication, 2021
Campus activities and awards: Contributing author with The Globe and the Point Park News Service 
Describe Point Park in one word: Community 

Crafting the Right Story

My name is Zoe Esperseth and starting in the fall of 2020 I’ll be a senior at Point Park University. I started at Point Park as a sophomore transfer in the fall of 2018, and I am majoring in mass communications. My Point Park journey has lasted two years, throughout which I’ve found internships, jobs, publications, confidence, and so many more opportunities that I never thought I could achieve. One of these opportunities allowed me to profile a number of amazing alumni to showcase the successes and stories of those who found their own opportunities at Point Park. But in order to tell their stories, I thought I might provide a little insight into my own.

Before I began my time at Point Park, I attended a small state school called Mansfield University. This place was 4 hours from home in a small town located in north central Pennsylvania, only about 20 minutes from the border of New York state. I spent my freshman year in the central PA mountains in a school of about 2,000 people altogether (the town itself only had about 3,000 people). Almost right away I knew this school may not have been the right fit for me, but after making some friends I decided to stick it out. But it wasn’t until early in the spring semester when I decided that I wanted out of Mansfield and into Point Park. So I fearfully applied to Point Park as a transfer, not knowing if I would be able to get in. But I was elated when I received my acceptance letter while I was still nestled in my dorm at Mansfield during a late mountain winter.

A new setting

As I counted down the weeks until I could finish my semester at Mansfield, Point Park was with my every step of the way in ensuring my smooth transition into the new university. My Center for Student Success coordinator and I talked over the phone and emailed back and forth to set up my commuter schedule, talk about orientation and all I would need to start. They were with me every step of the way before I even stepped foot on campus.

Eventually I was able to leave the small mountain town and return to Pittsburgh, where I worked over the summer and prepared to join the Point Park community. Thanks to the summer orientation I was already somewhat familiar with the campus and could easily slide into the routine I would follow when I was on campus. I remember finding the transition slightly difficult at first, as I was still maintaining my summer job and juggling my class workload, while also realizing that my classes were much different than at my previous school. The work was engaging and connected to real-world material. It was enlightening, but still very demanding. At Mansfield I had been a writer for the student newspaper, but even so I was stressed when it came to writing articles for one of my journalism classes. But while starting out slightly terrified, my professor pushed me to keep working and trying to improve, and by the end of the semester I had my first article published in The Globe.

By the end of my first semester at Point Park, I had gained much more confidence in my own abilities as a student. I was ready for the next semester, but I had no idea how many more opportunities Point Park would soon be providing.

One of my favorite things about Point Park is the amazing faculty and staff. It was thanks to one of my professors that I have the job I love. My public relations professor had us go to the on-campus job and internship fair instead of attending class that week. Our assignment was to go and network and report back on three of our favorite positions. It was there I met my future employer Maureen, the marketing director at WISH 99.7. After a week or so I heard back from her, interviewed, and scored an internship that same day. I spent most of the summer out working events with WISH or working in the office with Maureen. In the office I did everything from writing spots that would be heard on the radio, to creating promotional pieces for our advertisers. While out working events I got to work on fun local events and learn how these types of programs were operated. In August I became an official employee of the station and earned credit at Point Park for completing my internship.

As I entered my junior year at Point Park, I was once again thrown into my hectic class schedule, along with working at the radio station and my other summer job. My classes were challenging at times, and one of my journalism classes involved a lot of outside work that overwhelmed me at times. But at the same time it also enabled me to publish another article and write different types of stories that I never had before. So by the end of the semester I was both exhausted and fulfilled by the work I had accomplished.

Stories come in all shapes and sizes

I knew the spring semester would be unique when I first scheduled my classes. This would be the year I completed a Practicum, which I explained to my friends as an internship within the university. I conducted three interviews with different offices within the university, and I found my place with the Office of Alumni Engagement and Giving. Everyone in the office was so sweet and welcoming and helpful, I knew almost right away that I would love being there.

When I first started out working with the Alumni Office, I did something different every time I came in. I became familiar with their goals and practices, and I had my own fun little projects to do. Everyone there helped me become more involved, so I sat in on meetings and provided feedback when I could. A couple weeks into the practicum, my advisor suggested we work on interviewing alumni and writing features on their stories. Soon we were conducting interviews and I spent my time writing their story and preparing for our next interviews. I created a list of interview questions for a general outline and made some that were specific to certain majors or career paths. We ended up interviewing alumni from a variety of fields, ages, and life experiences. It was incredibly rewarding to hear these people tell me how Point Park played a role in their lives. Even when we were soon forced to work remotely, we continued to conduct interviews and I would write features and help out where I could while still working through online classes.

Working with the alumni office has opened my eyes to the broadness and inclusivity of the Point Park community. It still amazes me just how much a university can influence your path in life, whether it be your career or your friends and family. So many people have experienced a unique Point Park journey that influenced their futures. Every single student, past, present, and future, has their own story to tell. And I am grateful that I can help tell them.

More About: alumni, School of Communication, transfer students