My journey to Emerge began with a connection I never expected would lead to a new career.
In college, I studied journalism and sport & recreation management. I set out planning to work in broadcast journalism or sports marketing. Instead, my path took me to Storm Lake, where I worked in admissions at Buena Vista University and earned my master’s degree in organizational leadership.
While I was at BVU, I met Shelly through my sister, who was working as a video intern at Emerge. With my broadcast experience, I felt comfortable in front of the camera and helped Emerge with a video project for Manning. A few months later, Shelly and I reconnected to discuss the possibility of me joining Emerge.
At the time, I was looking for an opportunity in marketing. The timing felt right, but it was also a leap of faith for both of us: Shelly was hiring her very first employee, and I was leaving a large organization to join a small business.
Looking back, I’m grateful we both took that chance.
My role with Emerge has evolved so much over the last six years. I started as a creative specialist and worked primarily
as a videographer, social media manager, and copywriter. Today I work as a project manager and oversee various clients and coordinate marketing efforts. I create marketing plans, manage video projects, help with internal Emerge processes, and take care of media relations. While my day-to-day looks significantly different than it did when I started, the biggest change has been my professional growth. Being trusted and empowered to do my job, while being encouraged to ask questions and challenge myself, has strengthened my confidence, marketing knowledge, and leadership skills.
Manning Regional Healthcare Center has been an especially meaningful client for me because I’ve worked with them since my first day at Emerge. I started by supporting their marketing efforts and now serve as their project manager, coordinating their overall marketing. I’ve developed a passion for healthcare marketing because even though our work happens behind the scenes, I know we’re still helping people.
When I think of the word “emerge”, I think about going out of your comfort zone, growing into who you were meant to be, and finding and then living up to your full potential. In many ways, that describes my own journey here.
Emerge stands out from other marketing firms for a few significant reasons. A lot of organizations claim to be faith-based and family-oriented, but this is something Emerge has and will always stand by. We are all encouraged to put our families first, and there is so much flexibility and understanding when it comes to sick kids, emergencies, vacations, appointments, practices, maternity leave, etc. We also have the opportunity to work on different kinds of projects and with a variety of clients and industries. We are not stuck in one role doing the same thing every day and we are always learning something new. Our team of all women is helpful, supportive, smart, and caring. We are encouraged to push ourselves to be better personally and professionally, and we all work to make our communities better places to live.
That’s ultimately what I believe our work does, too.
Our impact goes beyond a new logo, marketing plan, or website. We help small businesses and communities discover their identity, share their stories, create opportunities, and turn their visions into reality.
Ten years is an incredible milestone, but I’m even more excited about where we go from here. As Emerge
continues to grow, I hope we become known for exactly what we set out to do: helping revitalize rural Iowa.
Six years ago, I took a leap of faith and stepped outside my comfort zone. Looking back, that decision gave me the opportunity to grow into more of who I was meant to be, both personally and professionally.
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