Winthrop, Massachusetts, United States
I aspire to work in the Public Affairs field, and recently received my Master's Degree in Communications with a focus in Public Relations. I previously interned at a startup podcast, The Gregg Housh Show, where I performed research, writing, & editing assistance, all while working full-time in the Federal Government. Eight years in the Transportation Security Administration have taught me how to communicate & transmit messages with stakeholders, management, employees, & the public, how to calmly defuse altercations, & how to drop everything & change direction at a moment's notice. But my proudest moment was shadowing my local Public Affairs Manager & being able to draft press releases, make posts to social media, & communicate with journalists regarding current news stories. I derive the greatest satisfaction from Research & writing. I contributed research for a presentation on bio-metrics that was well received by the audience of military & government officials in attendance. As an intern who worked to build a podcast company from the ground-up, I collaborated with producers & hosts to generate subject matter for weekly recordings. I have also scripted & recorded introductions & credits, played at the start & conclusion of each show. These skills extend outside of work and school with one of my favorite hobbies being Genealogy. I spent six months researching my family tree, examining archives & micro-print records. I was able to successfully locate & confirm birth records for over 20 people, as well as census records pinpointing places of residence. I am looking for a position where I am charged with interacting with the media & the public, representing an organization, & communicating its priorities. I want to work of different assignments each day. I wish to continue absorbing new knowledge & skills, & grow as a leader. Interested in working in the public sector for state or federal government agencies.
Oversees daily Checkpoint/Baggage Screening operations at Logan Intl. Airport. Directly supervises & instructs checkpoint/baggage screening officers, observes security screening quality, makes on-the-spot feedback when necessary. Produces rotations, prioritizes screening resources w/ regard to operational needs. Adapts to hourly changes to operations, provides additional support where needed. Adapts to weekly/daily changes in Standard Operating Procedures, & instructs employees on new procedures. Leads assigned screening location in absence of Supervisors, serves as point of contact for management, officers, & public. Am regularly called upon to conduct daily pat-down drills, w/ goal of increasing proficiency & officer confidence. Uses SOP knowledge to provide individual feedback on the quality of actions & improvement for real situations. Maintains spreadsheet of daily collection & organization of bag search data & alarms. Maintains documents of hourly shift summaries, employee arrivals & departures, duration of screening functions & unexpected events. Maintains records on equipment repair & conducts assessments of screening equipment inventory to requisition new supplies. Designated National Intelligence Officer (NIO). Researches agency intelligence, determines material relevant to screening operations, briefs officers on information critical to their functions. Answers questions, responds to feedback. Regularly briefs between 10-30 officers. Regularly communicates w/ managers in person & by phone regarding staffing & leadership figures, operational capacities, & workplace needs. Provides management w/ hourly information to coordinate movement & placement of officers throughout shift. Called upon to communicate implementation of new policies & regulations to officers. Supervisors rely upon me to effectively communicate & provide information relevant to senior management priorities to officers, federal/state agencies, & customers.
From June 2008 to December 2009 I served as a freelance reporter for the ‘The Town Common’ newspaper. This publication is the largest independent weekly newspaper in northern Essex County in Massachusetts. I was responsible for the writing and editing of news reports and stories, and making sure that they were reported in an organized and succinct manner, adhering to Associated Press-style guidelines. As readership mainly consisted of educated middle class people who lived in Essex County, Massachusetts, I tailored my writings to be of interest to these living in this area. Areas of coverage consisted of city government meetings, local characters, charities, and area events. This job brought me into contact with individuals from a variety of backgrounds to interview for information for a report. I utilized active listening skills to allow interviewee time to provide information, weighing the significance of the information provided and looked for new avenues of conversation relevant to the topic. Among other stories, I wrote an in-depth article on a women’s crisis center. For the purpose of this piece, I interviewed the people in charge, took detailed notes, and asked plenty of clarifying questions. When the article was published, they were pleased with how I represented their organization, saying that my article would be of benefit to their publicity efforts. After this, my editor assigned me more significant topics.